Newly crowned House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday endorsed former President Donald Trump’s return to the White House as he grapples with howls from his right flank over government funding.
“I have supported him unconditionally. Look, I was one of the closest allies President Trump had in Congress,” Johnson (R-La.) told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “He had a phenomenal first term those first two years.”
“We achieved the greatest economic numbers in the history of the world, not just the country, because his policies worked and I totally agree with President Trump,” Johnson continued. “I hope he is our candidate, yes, and he will win it and we have to make Biden a one-term president.”
Johnson’s predecessor, former President Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), has maintained a friendly relationship with Trump but has so far declined to endorse him amid the primaries.
Instead, McCarthy, a frequent “Squawk Box” guest, publicly highlighted Trump’s standing in the race, emphasizing last week that the former president is “stronger today than he was in 2016.”
“I completely agree with President Trump and I hope he is our candidate; we have to make Biden a one-term president.” Says the president of the House of Representatives of the Republican Party @SpeakerJohnson in his first endorsement of Trump as president. “We have to make radical changes; “The American people are suffering.” pic.twitter.com/7m2jiTaYrl
– Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) November 14, 2023
Mike Johnson became House speaker last month and quickly found himself at the center of a government shutdown battle.
Johnson supported Trump in past elections and was part of his impeachment defense team during both Senate trials.
When asked about the 77-year-old’s election denialism, Johnson downplayed Trump’s controversial rhetoric.
“Listen, there are a lot of people in Washington who say things that aren’t accurate all the time,” Johnson said. “Everyone does it. We are all human.”
The newly crowned speaker publicly endorsed Donald Trump. CNBC Squawk
However, the speaker insisted that he believes Trump is sincere in his belief that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
“What he believes about it is deep in his heart. I mean, I’ve talked to him personally about this. Many of us have,” Johnson continued. “And I think that’s one of his core beliefs.”
Trump stopped short of explicitly endorsing Johnson for president, although he pushed Republicans to endorse him last month.
Kevin McCarthy has maintained that he has no regrets about his moves to avoid a government shutdown at the end of September.AP
“I am not giving my endorsement in this race, because I COULD NEVER GO AGAINST ANY OF THESE GOOD AND VERY TALENTED MEN,” Trump posted on Truth Social last month.
“My strong SUGGESTION is to elect the frontrunner, Mike Johnson, AND DO IT FAST!”
Johnson finds himself grappling with a situation over government funding similar to the one that led to McCarthy’s overthrow.
Donald Trump is the Republican frontrunner for 2024.AP
To avoid a partial government shutdown at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Johnson proposed a two-step “phased CR” that would keep the government open until next year.
According to his plan, part of the government will be funded until January 19 and the rest until February 2. This gives Congress two deadlines to fund the government on a more permanent basis during the fiscal year.
But many hardline Republicans have opposed the proposal, appalled by the lack of spending cuts it entails. As a result, Johnson will likely have to rely on Democratic support to win approval.
“It is a true innovation. It’s a paradigm shift in how Washington works. But what that will do is allow us to have those fights,” Johnson said.
The president stressed that his plan will avoid the Christmas crisis that Congress often suffers to finish the appropriations process.
“We have an imminent shutdown and we have to avoid it because it would do even more damage to the economy,” Johnson warned.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn