Mike Johnson to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago amid threat to speakership

Home Speaker Mike Johnson is heading to former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort for a joint look on Friday as he tries to shore up conservative help and fend off a risk to his speakership led by GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

Greene has threatened to pressure a vote to oust Johnson over authorities spending and help to Ukraine, though no different Home Republicans have signed on to the hassle. Johnson was narrowly elected after a number of different candidates did not safe the gavel final yr, and Republicans have a good narrower margin within the Home now. A single member can pressure a vote to oust a speaker, a rule former Home Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to with a view to seize his short-lived speakership.

Johnson and Trump are set to ship remarks Friday afternoon from Mar-a-Lago about “election integrity.” Trump continues to falsely declare that he misplaced the 2020 election on account of voter fraud.

The Biden marketing campaign launched an announcement from Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chair of the Home committee that investigated the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, calling Trump “a risk to our democracy and a hazard to our Structure.”

“Donald Trump and Mike Johnson do not care about election integrity — they care solely about serving to Trump’s marketing campaign of revenge and retribution to regain energy in any respect prices,” Thompson mentioned.

Again in Washington, Greene has not mentioned when she would possibly pressure a vote on Johnson’s removing. Her opposition comes as Johnson faces mounting stress to name a vote on approving extra help for Ukraine, one thing Greene strongly opposes. Greene renewed her risk in a letter this week.

Johnson advised the Christian Broadcasting Community earlier this week that he does not “harbor any unwell will in the direction of Marjorie,” however mentioned a stalemate in Congress is counterproductive to the Republican Celebration and Trump’s possibilities in 2024. The Home floor to a halt for weeks after McCarthy’s ouster within the fall.

“We have got to reveal the American those that we are able to maintain the practice on the tracks,” he advised CBN. “And so pulling a movement to vacate, eradicating the speaker proper now could be precisely the other of what we have to present the nation. We won’t shut the Congress down, as a result of that is what is going to occur. They are going to blame us. And so it could harm our possibilities of rising the bulk, or our social gathering or President Trump’s possibilities for his election as a result of all of our fates in, in some sense, are tied collectively.”

Johnson’s enterprise to Mar-a-Lago is paying homage to McCarthy’s go to to Mar-a-Lago weeks after Trump supporters assaulted the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, endangering members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence. McCarthy initially blamed Trump for the riot, however wanted Trump’s help to ultimately turn into speaker.

Caitlin Yilek contributed to this report.