Palm Beach— House Speaker Mike Johnson is visiting Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on a campaign trip to align himself and his GOP majority with the indicted ex-president.
Before November, they will announce election integrity, but the trip is important for both. Trump must calm Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's eviction threats against Johnson. Trump gains from official Washington rushing to Florida to support his comeback bid and political deception. “It is the symbolism,” conservative broadcaster and Trump opponent Charlie Sykes remarked.
“The Speaker of the House of Representatives was a dominant figure in American politics,” he stated. “Look where we are now, where he comes hat in hand to Mar-a-Lago.” The House speaker and presidential candidate aligning for the campaign season is normal as the party coordinates resources and proposals for voters in the fall.
In the Trump era, Republican leaders' visits to his Palm Beach, Florida, club have become defining moments, highlighting the unbalanced relationship as the former president controls the party in sometimes humiliating displays of power. Kevin McCarthy, the House GOP leader, went to Mar-a-Lago after criticizing the defeated president following the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack. After that, a happy photo showed their relationship healing.
Johnson suggested visiting Mar-a-Lago weeks before Greene filed her motion to remove him as speaker. The visit occurs days before the former president's hush money trial in New York City next week. In his first six months as speaker since replacing McCarthy, the trip demonstrates the speaker's frailty and his growing understanding of Trump-era politics.
Johnson of Louisiana knows he needs Trump's support for nearly any House action, including his next big goal, aiding Ukraine against Russia's invasion. The “Make America Great Again” Republicans, who support Trump but cause most of the House instability that has ground activity to a halt, are crucial to the speaker's political future.
Johnson has the thinnest majority in history, and a comment from the former president can derail legislation. Formerly a Trump skeptic, the two men now chat often, including this week. Still, Trump urged Republicans to “kill” a national security surveillance bill Johnson had personally worked to enact, causing a surprise loss that plunged the House into turmoil this week. It was anticipated to try again to pass the bill Friday before Johnson leaves for Florida.
In an unprecedented step, the speaker is directly negotiating with the White House on the national security package that could collapse with Trump's resistance to support Ukraine. Greene threatens a hasty vote to remove Johnson from leadership if he gives the overseas ally U.S. aid.
“The funding of Ukraine must end,” Greene urged Johnson in a private meeting last week. Johnson, who led one of the key legal challenges to Joe Biden's 2020 election, appears to support Trump on election integrity. Trump still thinks the 2020 election was rigged, even though no evidence has surfaced in the last four years and every state verified its results.
Trump has basically taken over the Republican National Committee, directing it toward his goals as he seeks reelection. He backed RNC leader Michael Whatley, who created a “Election Integrity Division” and is hiring thousands of lawyers nationwide. They are expected to propose measures to prohibit noncitizens from voting during Friday's event, even though it's a federal felony to vote in a federal election. There's no proof of many immigrants voting illegally.
Republicans say stronger laws should ban noncitizens from voting in federal elections after liberal cities like San Francisco have allowed it in some municipal elections. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, supported those ideas. “How do you prevent noncitizens from voting? This is about that.”
Johnson is a nominal speaker due to early retirements and departures. He gets greater problems from MAGA Republicans as he relies on Democrats to enact major legislation, like last month's bills to keep the government from closing down. Johnson might benefit from Trump supporting or not opposing House legislative initiatives. This is becoming more uncertain as the anticipated presidential nominee steers the GOP in a different domestic and international policy direction.
Few Republicans are backing Greene's effort to remove Johnson, for now, because to infighting and the fear of another monthlong debate like McCarthy's. “Marjorie’s actions are horrific,” said former Trump administration official Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio. They're childish. Petulant. They have no place in this body.”
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