On Wednesday, Trump sent Johnson back to the drawing board on a short-term spending deal, demanding that it include a hike in the federal borrowing limit.

The compromise that emerged a day later, negotiated strictly among Republicans, would avert a prolonged government shutdown with hours until a Friday deadline. The bill includes a two-year extension of the debt ceiling, plus a handful of provisions on disaster relief and the farm bill.

However, acquiescing to Trump’s demand has put Johnson in direct conflict with fiscal hawks whose votes he needs to become speaker again. Most refuse to vote for any hike to the debt limit that does not include “structural reforms” to reduce spending.

None are present in the current bill.

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There is no guarantee that Trump’s endorsement will save him in January’s floor vote for speaker, and Johnson has only antagonized House Republicans with funding negotiations, releasing an earlier bill on Wednesday that Republicans complained had too many Democratic add-ons.

However, Trump made clear in repeated interviews Thursday morning that his continued support is conditional on Johnson’s negotiations on the debt limit.

“If the speaker acts decisively, and tough, and gets rid of all of the traps being set by the Democrats, which will economically and, in other ways, destroy our country, he will easily remain speaker,” he told Fox News.

Trump said, “We’ll see,” in a separate interview when asked if Johnson still has his confidence.

Trump was instrumental to quelling a House uprising against Johnson in May, and his backing will be just as important to ease another revolt.

However, Johnson will be navigating a zero-seat majority in January, meaning any one House conservative can tank his speakership bid.

Already, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who helped initiate the May ouster attempt, has declared that he will not vote for Johnson, with a small bloc aligned with him signaling further opposition.

Johnson was already going to have to rely on Democratic votes to fund the government given their control of the Senate and White House. Adding the debt limit into the mix could make the vote total more lopsided, giving conservatives further ammunition to oppose his leadership bid next year.

“The problem is, any debt ceiling deal has to be obviously bipartisan,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), who served in the House until 2019.

“There are lots of Republicans who have never voted for one and I’m pretty sure never will, and I’m not even sure Donald Trump could talk them into it,” Cramer added. “That means the price for it will be even greater. It’s not like it gets more conservative.”

Originally, the debt limit was set to be reached in January, with the Treasury Department expected to use “extraordinary measures” to stave off default into June.

Waiting until next year would have given Republicans more leverage since they will have unified control of Washington. However, Trump was hesitant to navigate the fight so early in his presidency, viewing the debt ceiling as a political trip wire. Republicans’ reed-thin control of the House next year made the prospect of negotiations even more fraught.

Ultimately, Republicans rejected Trump’s demand to eliminate the debt limit completely. However, they stripped controversial provisions such as a pay raise for lawmakers and other add-ons that Trump panned as Democratic “giveaways.”

There was reluctance within the Democratic caucus to relitigate a funding deal that had already been hammered out, and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called the GOP-negotiated deal unserious shortly after it was unveiled.

“It’s laughable,” he said. “Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown.”

The impasse leaves the prospect of a floor vote in limbo despite Republican leadership hoping to move quickly on the legislation.

Johnson had been meeting with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and James Braid, Trump’s incoming legislative director, to discuss the contours of a deal, with talks involving House GOP leaders from every ideological faction.

Already, Republicans are signaling their opposition to any hike in the debt limit that is not accompanied by deficit cuts.

“You can’t lift the debt ceiling or suspend the debt ceiling without structural reform to save money. That’s the bottom line,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), a member of the Freedom Caucus, told reporters Thursday, according to CNN. “It’s like increasing your credit card limit, while you don’t do anything to constrain spending.”

His comments prompted Trump to threaten a primary challenge against Roy, one of the House lawmakers to support Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in 2024.

In 2023, the House Freedom Caucus forced the House to pass a debt limit bill with almost $5 trillion in spending cuts as an opening offer in negotiations with the White House.

However, ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy adopted a far narrower compromise with President Joe Biden, an action that contributed to his ouster four months later.