Scoop: Trump and Mike Johnson plot 2025 plans
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Donald Trump and Mike Johnson are talking at length about plans for next year, a strong sign that the former president sees the speaker as more than an interim caretaker.
Why it matters: MAGA hardliners want Johnson gone next year, setting the stage for a nasty leadership fight next year whether or not House Republicans keep the majority after the November elections.
- "Everyone that's gonna be voting for President Trump hates Mike Johnson," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told Axios.
- House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has been quietly positioning himself to replace Johnson as party leader, multiple sources told Axios.
Zoom in: Trump and Johnson are aiming to avoid the legislative scramble of Trump's early days in the White House after his win in 2016, sources told Axios.
- The two have discussed budget priorities and how congressional Republicans could help pass Trump's second-term agenda.
- They've discussed using budget reconciliation to get around the need for 60 Senate votes to pass legislation on their agenda — such as energy and tax policy — if Republicans sweep the House, Senate and the White House.
The other side: "Johnson is the one that's pushing himself out there to set the agenda for the first 100 days," Greene told Axios.
The big picture: Trump sees Johnson as a "good enough ally" and understands the importance of dealmaking in Congress, a top Trump ally told Axios.
- Their relationship has deepened since 2019, when Trump first saw Johnson defend Trump on TV as a part of his impeachment defense team.
- Johnson, meanwhile, "respects him as the party leader," one senior GOP source said.
Between the lines: Johnson's communications style has helped him get away with some policy differences with Trump, people close to the two said.
- The speaker gives Trump ample heads up when he plans to bring legislation to the floor, and walks Trump through his thinking, even when the two disagree.
- "There was an issue where Trump's initial perspective was like, you're taking this in the wrong direction, right. And he worked with him a little bit. Trump kind of ended up being like, 'You know what, I don't know if I agree with you, but do what you think you got to do,'" one former Trump official said.
The bottom line: "Loyalty is always going to be chief among the things that [Trump] cares about, and Johnson has never wavered on that," one former White House official said.
