Trump 'did not try to pressure' key Republican to support Mike Johnson during call: report
President-elect Donald Trump has been working the phones to secure votes for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), but he reportedly isn't working them too hard.
Punchbowl News' Melanie Zanona on Friday reported on details that Trump had with Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), whom Trump had previously threatened with a primary challenge for his resistance to backing Trump's agenda.
Despite this, writes Zanona, "Trump did not try to pressure Roy over his speaker vote."
What's more, it appears as if Roy was the one who made demands of Trump and Johnson rather than the other way around.
"Roy told Trump Johnson needs to change things to win the gavel and/or to be successful, if he does wind up getting the votes," she writes on X. "Roy also warned Trump there are other likely no votes besides himself."
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With just hours until the House is set to hold its first vote for the speakership, there have been several ominous signs for Johnson's chances of retaining the top post in the House of Representatives.
Bryan Lanza, a senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, told CNN on Friday that there's a "strong possibility" that Johnson's bid for the speakership will crash and burn.
Trump, for his part, wished Johnson "good luck" in a Friday morning social media post but didn't make any demands of Republican lawmakers to get the job done.
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