Republican New York Rep. Mike Lawler said Sunday on ABC News that he would support Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson for reelection, warning fellow lawmakers that the speaker is essential for issues like certifying President-elect Donald Trump’s election.
While lawmakers are expected to conduct an election for the House speaker position on Friday, Johnson has faced criticism and doubts from fellow Republicans over his leadership in recent weeks following a chaotic vote on his original 1,574-page continuing resolution (CR). On ABC News’ “This Week,” host Jonathan Karl asked the GOP lawmaker for his thoughts on Johnson, questioning whether he believed the House speaker would be reelected and whether he should be.
“Yes, and yes. The fact is that Mike Johnson inherited a disaster when Matt Gaetz and several of my colleagues teamed up with 208 Democrats to remove Kevin McCarthy, which will go down as the single stupidest thing I’ve ever seen in politics. With that said, removing Mike Johnson would equally be as stupid. The fact is that these folks are playing with fire, and if they think they’re somehow going to get a more conservative speaker, they’re kidding themselves,” Lawler said.
“Mike Johnson is arguably the most conservative speaker that’s ever been elected to the office. He’s done a great job keeping the conference unified, getting major things off the plate, and ultimately keeping the majority, which frankly, despite the best efforts of some of these same people that are now calling for Johnson’s removal, we held on to the House because of seats like mine,” Lawler added. “I’ll be very clear, as I was during the Kevin McCarthy fight, I’m not going to bend to their will.”
Johnson won the speakership in October 2023 as the House GOP’s fourth speaker nominee after former Republican California Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the position due to a motion led by former GOP Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz. While Johnson has received support from his colleagues, some have recently voiced doubts after he introduced his CR, which was filled with provisions that would have cost hundreds of billions of dollars.
Lawler went on to warn fellow GOP members that it would be a “waste of time” to fight over the speakership election, noting that Trump has been “given a mandate to govern” after Republicans won the majority in both the House and Senate.
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“So if they think somehow that they are going to end up in a stronger position by removing Mike Johnson, they’re not,” Lawler continued. “I think the bottom line here is this, Donald Trump has been given a mandate to govern. He’s been given majorities in the Senate and the House, and we have a lot of work to do on behalf of the American people with respect to the economy, with respect to the border, with respect to energy policy, and the foreign affairs disaster that has been left on Donald Trump’s doorstep by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”
“We can’t get anything done unless we have a speaker, including certifying President Trump’s election on January 6th. So to waste time over a nonsensical intramural food fight is a joke. I think my colleagues, if they didn’t learn anything from the 118th Congress, it should be that we absolutely do not need a fight over the speakership,” Lawler said.
Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie became the first GOP House member on Dec. 18 to publicly state he would not support Johnson for reelection, saying he would vote for “somebody else.”
Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry declined to publicly endorse Johnson this week, telling Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo that while Johnson has done an “admirable job under tough conditions,” he is keeping his “options open.” Additionally, House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris told Fox Business on Thursday that GOP lawmakers need to “consider what’s the best path forward.”
While Trump has voiced support for Johnson since he stepped into the position as House speaker, the former president has appeared to be notably silent on the lawmaker’s upcoming reelection bid. However, Johnson was seen with Trump, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and other GOP allies during the Army-Navy football game on Dec. 14.
Featured Image Credit: Office of Congressman Mike Johnson
