Johnson revolt explodes over spending deal anger

• "There's an increasing number of people, after what happened this week, who said they are on the fence," Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), the chair of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, told Axios.
• To add insult to injury for Johnson, the offending spending bill was swiftly killed on Wednesday when President-elect Trump came out against it.

Driving the news: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told reporters on Wednesday that he is "not voting for" Johnson when the House meets to elect a speaker on Jan. 3.

• Massie said he will vote for an alternative candidate instead of voting "present," meaning his vote will count against Johnson.

What we're hearing: It may not just be Massie. Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) told reporters on Tuesday she was undecided on whether to vote for Johnson.

• "There are going to be more that are saying he shouldn't come back as speaker," said Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), who said he is also undecided.
• Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), asked about his vote for speaker, told Axios: "I'll make my mind up in January."

Zoom in: Right-wing Republicans inside and outside of Congress raged against Johnson for negotiating a more than 1500-page spending bill that included many legislative add-ons sought by lawmakers in both parties.

• In addition to a lack of spending cuts, the bill includes provisions like a congressional pay raise that conservatives balked at.
• Many lawmakers also grumbled that the deal was negotiated by leadership without the buy-in of rank-and-file members.

By the numbers: Johnson is set to have a 219-215 majority when Congress meets Jan. 3, meaning he could only lose a single GOP vote and still be elected speaker.

• For months he had appeared to be on a glide-path to reelection, bolstered by the backing of Trump.
• Even some Republicans who led the charge to oust him spring said they planned to vote for him as recently as last month.

What they're saying: "If Mike Johnson wants to continue to be the speaker, he's going to have to get Democrats to support him. Otherwise, it will be tough for him," Nehls said.

• The Texan said it has "been this way for a long time" due to a string of spending deals Johnson has cut with Democrats throughout his tenure.
• Harris, who said he is personally supporting Johnson, said the latest spending deal was "the straw that broke the camel's back" for some.

Yes, but: Johnson allies and skeptics alike acknowledged that the frustration may be transitory – and could easily subside with a single Trump tweet.

• "Everybody gets riled up over every [stopgap spending bill] since I've been here," said Burchett.
• Said a House Republican allied with Johnson: "Everybody says they're not going to do something until they do it."
• "Christmas comes, New Years comes, we're up until Jan. 3, we only have until the 6th to get a speaker to certify the election," the lawmaker said. "Good luck."

The bottom line: One potential chaos factor for Johnson is Trump, who is now demanding a debt ceiling extension that could be tough for Johnson to execute in an extremely limited time frame.

• Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) told Axios it "would be very difficult" to work out a debt ceiling deal in just two days.