Speaker’s allies call for Trump to back him to avoid another round of Republican civil war

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Allies of Speaker Mike Johnson are urging Donald Trump to reaffirm his support for the Republican leader of the House of Representatives in the hope of heading off a messy battle for the role in the new year. Florida Republican congressman Carlos Gimenez unpacked a possible scenario for Fox News Digital, telling the outlet: “If we have some kind of protracted fight where we can’t elect a speaker — the speaker’s not elected; we’re not sworn in. “Any time would be great, but right after Christmas if President Trump said, ‘You know, listen’ — it would even be really cool if somehow Mike Johnson ended up at Mar-a-Lago for Christmas… wherever the president is,” Fallon said. During last week’s battle over the spending bill, one of Johnson’s biggest critics — Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky — said he would not vote for him as speaker in the new year, seemingly teeing up a possible repeat of 2023 and further burnishing the party’s reputation for tearing each other apart.