With less than 24 hours left until the start of the 119th Congress, Mike Johnson doesn’t have the votes yet to remain speaker.
The Louisiana Republican has been working diligently over the past few days to lock down the 218 votes he needs, even after spending the holidays working the phones and meeting with incoming President-elect Donald Trump. But even the incoming president’s repeated endorsement earlier this week doesn’t mean Johnson is guaranteed a victory. Roughly a dozen Republicans are still on the fence, as some of them try to get concessions on the rules or commitments from Johnson on spending.
There are some positive signs for the speaker. In addition to Trump’s restated backing, Johnson has managed to keep his official “no” votes to only one so far — Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). And one notable holdout, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), is back in Johnson’s camp. Plus, despite multiple conservatives expressing reservations about Johnson, there’s not a clear alternative candidate who could get the votes.
And Johnson’s allies believe they’re making progress in decreasing the number of Republicans who are outwardly opposed to him retaining the gavel, according to two Republicans familiar with the conversations, viewing them as “pretty soft holdouts.” Still, the speaker’s allies privately admit he may not be able to win on the first few ballots.
House Republican leadership is eyeing Fort McNair, an Army post in Southwest Washington, as the tentative location for a conference retreat on Saturday on its ambitious legislative plans on the border, energy and taxes according to two people familiar with the unofficial plans who were granted anonymity to discuss private matters.
Republican lawmakers are being told to stay in town for the meeting, which would be loosely modeled on a successful tax policy retreat held by the House GOP in September 2017 and would focus on how to use the budget reconciliation process to achieve their goals. That process allows Republicans to skirt a Senate filibuster, enabling the party to pass legislation along party lines.
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/01/02/congress/gop-plans-policy-retreat-00196251
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