President-elect Donald Trump endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson for another term in his post on Monday, moving to shore up the fortunes of a leader whose fate he threw into question in December when he sank a bipartisan spending deal Johnson had struck to avert a government shutdown.

The announcement from Trump on his website, Truth Social, ended days of private discussions by the president-elect and his allies about whether to try to save Johnson or find another candidate, as some conservatives have been agitating for. It followed a concerted, monthslong effort by Johnson to ingratiate himself with the president-elect in hopes of winning his backing and averting another messy fight for the speakership at the start of the 119th Congress on Friday.

But it was not clear whether Trump’s stamp of approval would guarantee Johnson, R-La., a smooth road to reelection, given the antipathy he has drawn from some right-wing lawmakers who have recently shown their willingness to buck Trump. Given the very narrow margin of the incoming House majority, the loss of just a few votes could stymie Johnson.

One Republican lawmaker, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, has already pledged to oppose him, and others have said their support is not a certainty.

Jan. 6 deadline

The House is set to choose a speaker as the new Congress convenes, just three days before Trump’s Electoral College victory is scheduled to be certified by a joint session of Congress. Johnson must cobble together a majority in the 435-member chamber to keep his job, a feat that his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy struggled to accomplish even though he, too, had Trump’s endorsement at the time.

Failure to have a speaker in place by Jan. 6 could delay the certification process and focus attention on the deep divisions within the narrow House Republican majority. It also could slow what Trump and GOP leaders had hoped would be a rapid start to legislative business in the new Congress to begin enacting the president-elect’s ambitious agenda.

“The American people need IMMEDIATE relief from all of the destructive policies of the last Administration. Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man,” Trump wrote in a discursive post that praised himself and his campaign, attacked Democrats and mocked the Rev. Al Sharpton, with whom he has a long and contentious history.

Trump said Johnson would “do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!!!”

A person close to Trump, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the fact that House Republicans had defied the president-elect on the debt limit demand helped Trump realize that some members of the House posed challenges, but that Johnson was not one of them.

Trump and Johnson have been talking by phone regularly, and the speaker has told associates that the conversations have been warm and supportive.

Before making his endorsement on Monday, Trump had privately told people that Johnson had asked for his support, but that he was not sure he was going to back him. Trump and his advisers also told associates, though, that they did not see who else could get the 218 votes required to become speaker. No Republican has emerged to challenge him so far, though several have publicly vented their dissatisfaction with his performance and complained that Johnson did not keep them informed about his spending proposal.

After Trump’s announcement, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who would be a potential alternative candidate, said on social media that he agreed with Trump’s endorsement as a way to move quickly on the Republican agenda.

“Time to do what we said we would do,” Jordan wrote on social media.

But Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., said on Fox News on Monday before Trump’s endorsement that she was uncommitted on supporting Johnson for the speakership. She reiterated that view later in a social media post.

“I understand why President Trump is endorsing Speaker Johnson as he did Speaker Ryan, which is definitely important,” Spartz wrote. “However, we still need to get assurances that @SpeakerJohnson won’t sell us out to the swamp.”

After winning the House majority in 2022, Republicans got off to a rough start in 2023, taking 15 ballots and four days to elect McCarthy as speaker, only to see him deposed 10 months later. That led to Johnson’s surprise election after others on McCarthy’s leadership team were rejected on the House floor. A similar scenario in the new Congress would be an embarrassing spectacle for Republicans who will control the White House and both chambers of Congress.

Failure to deliver

In private, Trump has fumed about the fact that Johnson failed during the end-of-session negotiations in December to deliver on his late demand that a year-end spending package also contain a suspension of the debt ceiling, which would have spared him from having to address the federal borrowing limit when he takes office.

Trump had made that demand after he and his ally, Elon Musk, torpedoed the original catchall spending deal Johnson had cut with Democrats. Musk also endorsed Johnson keeping his job on Monday.

Trump has complained about a broad fiscal deal negotiated by McCarthy and President Joe Biden in May 2023, which increased the debt ceiling for two years while freezing and capping some government spending. He has also complained that Johnson has failed to find a way to spare him a debt ceiling dilemma early in his next term, given that many Republicans refuse to support raising the limit no matter who is in the White House.

Johnson said he was “honored and humbled” by the incoming president’s backing.

“Together, we will quickly deliver on your America First agenda and usher in the new golden age of America,” Johnson wrote on social media. “The American people demand and deserve that we waste no time. Let’s get to work!”