McCarthy Praises How Trump Saved Mike Johnson’s Job: ‘Made the Difference Here’
Johnson squeaked through reappointment as House Speaker on Friday with a razor-thin margin of just 218 to 215.
Former Republican congressman Kevin McCarthy congratulated Mike Johnson on his reappointment as House speaker following a Friday vote replete with closed-door drama. However, according to McCarthy, a former speaker of the House, it was President-elect Donald Trump who did all the work.
In a Saturday morning interview with Fox & Friends, McCarthy told host Guy Benson that Johnson owes a great debt to Trump’s “unifying” influence over the GOP.
“Congratulations first to Speaker Johnson,” said McCarthy. “Well done, but I think having such a big election, real congratulations to President Trump.”
He added, “I was with [Trump] last night, he made the difference here. He united a conference that is tough to keep together.”
Because the Republicans hold only a razor-thin majority in the House, Johnson could only afford to have lose two votes and still keep his job, which he eventually did by 218 to 215 votes amid a flurry of alleged backdoor wooing by the president-elect.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Efforts to rally undecided GOP officials behind Johnson fell on deaf ears when it came to Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky, however, who stood in opposition of Johnson until the bitter end.
“You can pull all my fingernails out. You can shove bamboo up in them. You can start cutting off my fingers. I’m not voting for Mike Johnson,” said Massie previously.
Speaking with Fox on Saturday, McCarthy went on to stress the need for GOP unity if the party is to push through Trump’s agenda once he formally takes office later this month.
He said, “We won across the country, but in Congress, the majority shrunk a little, and it’s even gonna get smaller by two more as they go to the administration. So nobody can have a disagreement if we wanna get this agenda through.”
McCarthy then added, “President Trump is the unifier. Members have got to stop focusing on themselves and look to the policy.”
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Unlock a year of full access to The Looker and The Daily Beast for $35.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Looker and The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Sign in
Login dialog