Johnson in peril
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Speaker Mike Johnson faces a nasty task in the next 12-to-24 hours after President-elect Trump and Elon Musk blew up his short-term spending bill.
Why it matters: Johnson badly miscalculated where his party and his president-elect were on the funding measures. It revives questions on his ability to read — let alone lead — his conference.
- Now Johnson has to cobble together a new, skinnier package that can attract Democratic votes and survive any Trump (or Musk) veto threats.
- Once ... if ... he gets that done, he faces a renewed flood of threats to his speakership ahead of the Jan. 3 speaker election.
🔥 Adding to the degree of difficulty: Trump and Vice President-elect Vance are calling for Johnson to also raise the debt ceiling. The new 11th-hour demand caught some lawmakers and staffers by surprise.
- Trump's ask came with a threat: He said tonight on Truth Social that any Republican who votes for a deal that doesn't raise the debt ceiling will face a primary challenger.
- 🦻 Trump and incoming Senate GOP leader John Thune previously discussed the idea of a pre-Inauguration Day debt hike, a source familiar told us.
Between the lines: Some Republicans fear Trump's demand isn't feasible. Top GOP appropriator Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) said it "would be very difficult" to pass.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries immediately said Democrats won't support a clean bill without any of their priorities.
Zoom in: "There's an increasing number of people, after what happened this week, who said they are on the fence" on whether to back Johnson's reelection as speaker, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), chair of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, told us.
- Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told reporters today he is "not voting for" Johnson when the House meets on Jan. 3.
The other side: "Christmas comes, New Year's comes, we're up until Jan. 3, we only have until the 6th to get a speaker to certify the election," a Johnson ally told us.
The bottom line: With Massie at "no," Johnson has a zero-vote margin on Jan. 3.
— Andrew Solender and Hans Nichols
