Exclusive: President-elect Donald Trump told Fox News Digital that House Speaker Mike Johnson “will easily remain president” of the next Congress if he “acts decisively and tough” and removes “all the traps that Democrats set” in the spending package.
Fox News Digital spoke exclusively with the president-elect Thursday morning, just hours after a bipartisan deal to avoid a partial government shutdown failed.
“Anyone who supports a bill that doesn't take care of the Democratic quicksand known as the debt ceiling should be brought to the forefront and eliminated as quickly as possible,” Trump told Fox News Digital.
Vice President-elect J.D. Vance met with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Los Angeles, on Wednesday evening. The two talked about the potential ongoing solution for about an hour. Vance said the two had a “productive conversation,” and said he believes they “will be able to work out some of the issues here” and will continue to “work on it.”
US House Speaker Mike Johnson shakes hands with US President-elect Trump on stage at the House Republican Conference meeting at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill on November 13, 2024, in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)
The chaos surrounding efforts to pass legislation to avoid a government shutdown highlights the next speaker's vote, as Johnson struggles to keep the party fully united.
But the president-elect told Fox News Digital that Johnson would “easily” retain his role as speaker.
“If the Speaker of the House acts decisively and tough, and gets rid of all the traps that the Democrats have set, which will destroy our country economically and in other ways, he will easily remain president,” Trump told Fox News Digital.
A speaker vote is scheduled for January 3, 2025.
Now dead on arrival An invoice consisting of 1,547 pages It was intended to be a short-term extension of state funding levels for fiscal year 2024, intended to give lawmakers more time to agree on funding for the rest of fiscal year 2025 by Friday's deadline.
In addition to funding the government through March 14, the bill includes more than $100 billion in disaster aid to help Americans affected by Hurricanes Milton and Helen. It also included $10 billion in economic aid for farmers, as well as health care reform measures and a provision aimed at revitalizing RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., and the surrounding campus.
The bill also proposes increasing the salaries of members of Congress.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus said they were shocked by what they saw as unrelated political contestants being added to the bill in last-minute negotiations.
Several GOP lawmakers, who allowed anonymity to speak freely, said Johnson would see challenges to his bid for speaker in early January on the issue.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
