Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will meet former President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Friday as the embattled House leader faces a threat to his speakership from Trump loyalist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.
Johnson and Trump have already been at odds on the House passing an additional $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, which Johnson has for months declined to allow the House to vote on legislation already passed by the Democratic-led Senate.
Trump has previously stated that he would end the war within 24 hours should he be reelected, while he has also touted converting the cost of weapons transfers to Ukraine into a loan.
Trump also encouraged GOP lawmakers to successfully “kill” reauthorizing FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a measure Johnson backed. The speaker is set to try again to push the measure through the House.
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Meanwhile, earlier this month, Greene authored a resolution to force the House to take a vote of no confidence in the speaker. Greene railed at Johnson for negotiating spending bills with Democrats and forgoing the GOP’s internal rule, requiring 72 hours before voting on legislation.
She is also a staunch opponent of providing more aid to Ukraine. Greene and Johnson met on Wednesday, with Greene saying she is still frustrated with the speaker’s handling of several hot-button issues.
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Nevertheless, Trump is expected to back the leadership of Johnson, who defended the former president in two impeachment trials.
In fact, Friday’s meeting has been billed as a “major announcement on election integrity,” and to tout legislation that would prevent noncitizens from voting, although no further details have been provided.
The joint appearance will also give Johnson an opportunity to publicly showcase his close ties to Trump.
“It’s about Trump embracing Johnson,” former Speaker Newt Gingrich said of Friday’s joint appearance, per the New York Times. “This is Trump saying, ‘He is the speaker, I am his friend, we are together.’ That’s a pretty important thing for him. He just has to endure.”
The high-profile joint appearance comes days after Trump met with former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron at Mar-a-Lago.
