(Washington) Donald Trump has not yet returned to the White House as the Republicans continue to display their dissensions, this time around the retention of the current president of the House of Representatives, the hostility displayed by a handful of conservative elected officials creating uncertainty before the vote on Friday.
With 220 Republicans against 215 Democrats in the lower house of the American Congress, the current “speaker”, Mike Johnson, will not be able to afford many defections in his camp.
This very religious elected official from Louisiana can, however, count on the support of Donald Trump, who hopes to avoid a pitched battle between Republicans in Congress before his return to the presidency on January 20.
“Mike has my total and complete support,” the future American president launched on his Truth Social platform on Monday, calling him a “good, hard-working, and religious man.”
Billionaire Elon Musk, who has become one of the most important voices in Washington since his thunderous alliance with Donald Trump, followed suit.
“I think the same thing. You have my full support,” he announced on his social network X to the “speaker”.
The latter welcomed the support of Donald Trump and promised that together, with the future president, they would “rapidly” implement his program in order to “launch the new golden age of America”.
Despite these two significant endorsements, Mike Johnson’s status remains wavering, with several oppositions already announced or suggested to his candidacy.
“Christmas Miracle”
“I understand what Mike is facing… If a bad wave of flu comes through here, we are in the minority,” Republican Tim Burchett sympathized with CNN, without promising to support Mike Johnson.
Others were even more frank.
“He won’t have my vote,” conservative elected official Thomas Massie declared in mid-December, even going so far as to say that it would take a “Christmas miracle” for him to change his mind.
The miracle did not happen, since the Kentucky elected official reiterated on Monday that he would not vote on January 3 for Mike Johnson.
In question, the budget agreement recently negotiated by the Republican leader in the House with the Democrats to avoid a paralysis of federal public services just before the holidays.
Many elected officials from the right wing of the Republicans, including Thomas Massie, were choked up in the face of the vast expenditures planned by the text, considered as a disorder by these supporters of a course of slimming down the federal state.
Republican elected official Victoria Spartz also suggested Monday that she would not vote for Mike Johnson.
“Our next speaker will have to show courageous leadership in order to put our country back on track,” she declared in a press release in which she protested the swelling of the United States’ debt.
Psychodrama
The looming battle has the air of déjà vu, after the unprecedented dismissal a year ago of the previous president of the lower house, Kevin McCarthy.
A fall from the perch orchestrated by the Trumpist fringe in Congress, which already accused Kevin McCarthy of having increased the deficit by giving in too much to the Democrats.
The impeachment gave rise to a 22-day psychodrama and exposed the internal struggles of the Republican camp to broad daylight.
Less than three weeks before his return to the White House, Donald Trump wants to avoid this type of scenario.
Especially since he already suffered a snub in Congress before Christmas.
With Elon Musk, he first torpedoed the first budget agreement negotiated by Mike Johnson with the Democrats. The future president wanted to include in the text an increase in the debt ceiling, which would have given him greater budgetary room for maneuver.
He even made it a sine qua non condition for his support, but the text that was adopted ultimately lacks it and largely resembles the first one that was negotiated.
If Mike Johnson does not reach the majority of votes cast on Friday, the ballot will be repeated in the following hours and days, with behind-the-scenes negotiations, until the lucky one is found on the perch.
Without a “speaker”, the House of Representatives would also find itself unable to act, and therefore to certify Donald Trump’s victory for the presidency, during a session scheduled for the following Monday.
