Trump expands control within the GOP as Johnson aims to keep speakership

Former President Donald Trump proved this week that he still holds considerable sway over House Republicans, with a visit from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and a controversial legislative vote highlighting how much chaos a few sentences from the former president can spark.

Since the House GOP took the majority after the 2022 midterm elections, Trump continues to put his fingerprints over legislative and campaign business, efforts that have led to party infighting and stalled policy proposals key to running the country.

Most recently, he got involved in the fight to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a key surveillance tool essential to national security. The House passed the legislation, but not without opposition from the former president, who created a more complicated situation for Johnson as some of his allies began to reconsider their position on reauthorization.

Johnson’s vote against warrant requirements preempted the speaker’s visit to Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago, where Johnson and Trump delivered joint remarks on election integrity on Friday. The visit was as much a campaign promotion for Trump as it was a Hail Mary for Johnson, who faces the threat of a motion to vacate over the spending deal and, thanks to Friday’s vote, the renewal of a key federal surveillance tool.

With Johnson’s speakership up in the air, his one shot at redemption may fall in Trump’s hands, as a vouch in support from the former president could be the key to keeping hard-right Republicans from ousting him.

Trump’s interference in legislation proves effective

The House passed Section 702 of FISA on Friday despite interference from Trump, who came out in opposition to the FISA proposal earlier on Wednesday morning. Hours later, 19 Republicans joined all Democrats in voting down a procedural rule vote on Wednesday, effectively putting the House at a standstill until a new version of the text was negotiated.

This is not the first time that comments from Trump have derailed legislation. He demanded earlier this year that congressional Republicans rejected anything other than a “perfect” deal on the border, making the Senate supplemental legislation on aid to Ukraine and Israel essentially dead on arrival.

The former president also came to TikTok’s defense last month, but House Republicans broke away from him in a rare moment in disagreement and voted to approve legislation to force the social media platform to sever ties with its Chinese parent company. Though it was an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, Trump’s words did change GOP minds.

Some members believe that Trump’s involvement in legislative matters is helping the GOP conference.

“Probably does. I’m sure it probably does,” Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) said to the Washington Examiner. “You’ve got to realize I’m the type of guy that looks at Donald Trump and what he did in four years. Donald Trump is always right.”

Other members, who may not always agree with Trump’s every word, understand the weight that both his and President Joe Biden’s comments can carry on policy decisions.

“I just think that people who sent me here expect me to listen to them and then to obtain information to make a choice,” Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY), one of the vulnerable GOP members up for reelection this cycle, said to the Washington Examiner. “My choice, I think, is ultimately to move the process forward and strengthen the legislation by further ensuring protections for American civil rights.”

“We’re in a presidential election news cycle,” Molinaro admitted. “I mean, the president says something, then the former president says something, we have to digest that information.”

Johnson meeting with Trump: Will it be enough to save him?

The vote on FISA, and the motions filed afterward, set Johnson up for a potentially politically advantageous meeting at Mar-a-Lago with Trump as the motion to vacate hangs over his head.

Following a failed amendment vote on warrant requirements, Johnson immediately faced severe backlash from several hard-line House Republicans who felt the speaker was a “tiebreaker” for the provision.

“The speaker doesn’t always vote in the House, but he was the tiebreaker today. He voted against warrants,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said following the amendment vote.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), in addition to arguing Johnson’s vote “brought other members over to my side” in favor of a motion to vacate, also indicated that the former president may not hand over his support to the speaker easily.

“He’s the leader of the party. He is the, you know, our Republican presidential candidate that I’m supporting, and trying to help win in November,” Greene said to reporters. “However, after Johnson’s vote, today, I can’t imagine President Trump being very happy about that.”

While he seeks to garner support among his colleagues, Johnson gained an edge at his meeting with Trump on Friday after the former president issued public words of support for Johnson, saying they have a “very good relationship.”

“We’re getting along very well with the speaker, and I get along very well with Marjorie,” Trump said. “We have a speaker. He was voted in, and it was a complicated process, and I think … it’s not … an easy situation for any speaker. I think he’s doing a very good job.”

“He’s doing about as good as you’re going to do. And I’m sure that Marjorie understands that. She’s a very good friend of mine. And I know she has a lot of respect for the speaker,” Trump added.

Following the passage of FISA, Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL), against whom Trump has called for a primary challenger, asked for a motion to reconsider the vote. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) motioned to table the reconsideration, forcing a vote on his motion for Monday.

GOP FISA opponents seek to change minds over the weekend and scuttle sending the legislation over to the Senate.

Regardless of the outcome of Johnson’s meeting with the former president, some Republicans believe that the speaker’s meeting with Trump was an essential career move.

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“He’s the head of our party, he should meet with him,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) told reporters Thursday regarding Trump and Johnson.

“His policy agenda is going to be largely what Republicans are going to look to adopt here on Capitol Hill,” the Florida congressman continued. “So you know, whatever those conversations that need to take place, that’s an important thing to do. And a lot of business gets done in person, not over the phone. So, I actually recommend he does it — I’m glad he’s going to do it. And you know, I think that dialogue should continue.”

Cami Mondeaux contributed to this report.