WASHINGTON (AP) — It is donald trump He was nicknamed “MAGA Mike Johnson” by house speakers The day he won the gavel.
it is Republican Party Chairman Himself who is proving it Will it stick?.
johnson survived expulsion vote This week, a far-right congressman who is one of Trump's biggest supporters in Congress spoke out. marjorie taylor greenhis job was only secured after House Democrats went all out The purpose is to put an end to the confusion in the Republican Party.
However, the major role that Trump played was support johnson It cannot be underestimated. Nor can you rely on the speaker to save you again.
In fact, the indicted former president, who is known for turning friends against his enemies, said Republicans shouldn't vote to remove Johnson, but added, “There's a good chance they will at some point, but now is not the time.'' No,” he warned.
The result underscores the fragility of an unexpected but strategically beneficial alliance that President Trump and Prime Minister Johnson forged ahead of the deal. November election A Republican president in the White House and loyal foot soldiers in Congress, when both want to return to power.
“They seem to be on the same page, and I think that's great,” said Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who is central to Mr. Trump's efforts to challenge the 2020 presidential election.
Mr. Johnson, a conservative Christian, has been trying hard to keep pace with the former president, putting aside his once critical views of the presidential candidate and joining Trump's Republican Party on Capitol Hill. It promotes itself as the main executor of the “Make America Great Again” policy.
Johnson has been in the position for just six months. then-Chairman Kevin McCarthy oustedthe new leader has secured key support by making numerous trips to President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, including last weekend's glitzy Republican National Committee gala.
When Trump invited Johnson to the stage In short, the speaker praised the former president as the “strongman” this country needs in the White House. Mr. Trump and Mr. Johnson are friendly, according to a person with knowledge of their relationship, who was granted anonymity to discuss it.
“He's doing a great job,” Trump said with Johnson before the House of Representatives voted to approve the bill after a return visit last month. National security package funded by Ukraine Greene warned that it would lead to a vote to fire Johnson.
In return for his endorsement, President Trump has used the speaker's high profile to justify his relentless attacks on the U.S. electoral process, the judicial system, and the multiple criminal cases against him, including federal indictments against his efforts. increasingly trusting of the high position of Prior to the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to overturn the 2020 election.
“All of these lawsuits need to be dropped,” said Johnson, a constitutional lawyer and second in line to the president as speaker of the House. “President Trump has done nothing wrong. … It has to stop.”
Trump has already pre-emptively challenged the 2024 election as potentially rigged before the first votes are cast, and has filed legal challenges to Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. Mr Johnson, who led the challenge, is in a strong position to once again question the legitimacy of the result.
Asked this week whether he believed the 2020 election was legitimate and whether he would support a new state-certified result this fall, Johnson shook his head in frustration and demurred. “What we're talking about today is the 2024 election. No one can retroactively disprove what happened in 2020,” he said.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Johnson's joint venture was in sharp focus Wednesday ahead of action in the House of Representatives, with the speaker standing alongside figures from the former president's advisers on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. announced a new bill that would require proof of citizenship before being eligible for citizenship. Vote.
Johnson had promised Trump a voting rights and civil rights bill. When visiting Mar-a-Lagoand its announcement along with Mitchell and Stephen Miller, the architect of President Trump's hardline immigration policies, highlights how the former president's “Make America Great Again” movement was incorporated into the House speaker's agenda. I showed you what I was doing.
According to election experts, There is little evidence Noncitizens are supposed to vote in U.S. elections, and past investigations, including those pursued by the Trump administration, have found no significant fraud.
Nevertheless, Johnson and others claimed without evidence Immigrants are being brought into the United States to vote illegally. The bill could be seen as a stepping stone to challenges that President Trump may pose after the November election.
“If this bill does not pass, Joe Biden and the Democratic Party will be orchestrating one of the greatest interventions in a democracy in the history of the world,” Miller said outside the Capitol.
Still, the push for the bill did not appease Greene, who tried unsuccessfully to remove her from office hours later.
Colleagues booed in protest. There was an overwhelming majority of 359-43 to keep Johnson in the role.
“I'm proud of what we did today,” Greene said afterward on the steps of the Capitol.
It's the second time in recent months that Republicans have attempted to oust their own chairman, a move unlike any in U.S. history and an unprecedented level of party upheaval.
Without Democratic support, Mr. Johnson would undoubtedly have faced a far more dire outcome. Overall, 196 Democrats and 163 Democrats voted to advance Greene's motion. But 11 Republicans voted to continue the effort, exceeding the number needed to remove Mr. McCarthy from office last fall, a first in U.S. history.
Democrats also made clear that their support was for this moment only, not a promise of a lasting partnership for Mr. Johnson's survival.
“Our decision to stop Marjorie Taylor Greene from plunging our country into further chaos is rooted in our commitment to problem-solving.” Minority Leader Hakeem JeffriesD.N.Y., after voting.
“The only thing we're asking our House Republican colleagues to do is for traditional Republicans to further isolate the extreme MAGA Republican wing of the Republican Party,” he said, adding that if Democrats win the House majority in the fall, he would become speaker. said Jeffries, who will be sworn in. “We need more common sense and we need less confusion.”
Asked about a future motion to vacate the chair, Jeffries said, “I haven't thought about it yet.”
By relying on Democratic support, Mr. Johnson risks inviting further criticism that he is not loyal enough to the party.
And that threat remains, with even a single member able to call a motion to remove the speaker from office.
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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Michelle Price, Stephen Groves, Mary Clare Jalonick and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.