Congress

Conservatives fall in line behind Mike Johnson ahead of speaker race

Published

2 years ago

December 15, 2024

Mike Johnson’s speakership appeared to be on life support seven months ago. Now, even his biggest antagonists are preparing to back him as the party enters the second Trump era.

It didn’t happen by accident — Johnson’s been working diligently behind the scenes to solidify support. According to interviews with roughly a dozen lawmakers, his improved fortunes are attributable to three main factors, all things he’s played an active role in: Bringing his defectors into the fold and hearing them out, punting a huge funding fight into early next year and securing President-elect Donald Trump’s endorsement.

That last one was particularly key, and Johnson, knowing that was the case, had aligned himself closely with Trump for months. Once the president-elect endorsed the speaker in November, most of Johnson’s opposition gradually melted away. Hard-liners considering a long-shot bid against him have now opted against it, wary of crossing the president-elect. At this point, Johnson says he and Trump talk constantly — and their continued alignment will have huge impacts not only on the speaker’s future, but also on the GOP’s ambitious legislative agenda.

“I would vote for him today,” said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who mounted symbolic challenges to Kevin McCarthy for the speakership and voted to advance an ouster effort against Johnson earlier this year. “I just don’t think we need a distraction right now at this point. He’s been more accessible for me to talk to and bellyache and moan to.”

Two of the three Republicans who tried to force a vote to boot Johnson in May, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), now say they’ll support Johnson in January. Gosar told Blue Light News that he would vote for Johnson but added, “I just think he’s got to take some stuff further.” The third lawmaker in that group, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), said he is still making up his mind.

“I’m still talking to Mike Johnson about that,” Massie said in a recent interview.

Johnson isn’t totally in the clear yet, given he’ll have almost no room for error in January. No Democrats are going to help him, which means he can have only one Republican vote against him and still become speaker. And beyond Massie, there’s still a few who either aren’t tipping their hand or are undecided on backing Johnson, like Reps. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.).

Hard-liners considering a long-shot bid against Johnson have now opted against it, wary of crossing President-elect Donald Trump.

Still, despite some of their colleagues keeping their options open, four conservatives told Blue Light News that they don’t expect any Republican to oppose Johnson on the floor.

“I don’t think there’s going to be a speaker’s race. … Right now, he has overwhelming support and he’s supported Trump,” said Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), adding that “something fairly egregious” would have to happen for Johnson to lose. And he thinks that’s unlikely.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who opened the door to opposing Johnson earlier this year, added that House Republicans are “ready to move forward. I don’t think there’s an appetite to have a speaker fight. People like Mike.”

He also acknowledged what has been a yearslong problem for leadership rebels: “Who are you going to get? Who wants it?”

While conservatives had weighed putting up a symbolic challenger to the speaker in an internal conference vote last month, they ultimately backtracked after they secured a deal on the conference’s internal rules. After that, Johnson received unanimous backing from his party to be the GOP speaker nominee — a once-unthinkable feat. Trump, who showed up before the meeting, backed him just ahead of the vote.

After that vote, momentum kept moving in Johnson’s favor. Greene kept the door open to backing Johnson for the full floor vote, before publicly saying earlier this month that she intends to support him. The speaker had met privately with Greene to discuss her role in the conference, with the Louisiana Republican saying he wanted her to be more involved. She was later given a prominent post leading a subpanel that will work with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, though Johnson and the House Oversight chair deny the GOP leader was involved in that decision.

Johnson, during an interview on “The Bret Baier Podcast,” said that he wasn’t worried about the Jan. 3 speaker race, adding: “Look, we have a unified conference. I’ve talked with every single individual at great length. … I think we’ll have a smooth transition, a smooth election as speaker.”

There are still some traps remaining that Johnson will need to avoid.

Conservatives are still watching closely to see how Johnson handles a Dec. 20 government funding deadline, including the details of any disaster aid money. If Johnson had agreed to a mammoth end-of-year spending bill, known as an omnibus, it could have sparked conservative ire at the worst time for the speaker. Though some members of the right flank voted against a huge defense policy bill last week, Johnson included enough conservative wins that he kept blowback to a minimum.

Others dismiss the idea that Johnson is in danger. Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), the former Interior secretary during Trump’s first administration, said the speaker and president-elect are working in lockstep on legislative goals, including Johnson’s spending plan.

And others are still declining to say how they plan to vote on Jan. 3 as they negotiate their own positions next year.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) publicly threw his hat into the ring for Rules Committee chair last week, a position Johnson selects unilaterally. The Texas conservative declined to discuss how he would vote next month, noting that “we’re still working through how we’re organized” but added they were having active discussions in a “positive way.”

“I expect that we’re all going to be united come Jan. 3,” Roy added. “Mike has been good about working with all of us.”

Congress

Nvidia’s Huang heads to Capitol Hill for AI talks

Published

55 minutes ago

July 27, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will meet with lawmakers in Washington to discuss American leadership on artificial intelligence, the company said Monday.

A spokesperson for the chipmaker said Huang would hold talks with both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill to talk about latest developments with the technology.

“Jensen is in DC to meet with leaders on both sides of the aisle to discuss American leadership in AI, including leading in open source,” the spokesperson said.

Huang is scheduled to sit down Tuesday with Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who has expressed serious concern about security threats following last week’s OpenAI autonomous cyberattack.

The senator’s office confirmed the meeting. Senate Intelligence Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It comes as Huang defended open-source AI on X, writing that such models “strengthen safety and cybersecurity, accelerate innovation and diffusion, and enable sovereignty.”

Huang’s visit comes as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is also expected to meet with Warner, although a spokesperson for the senator said the talks were separate. Earlier Monday, Open AI announced it was in talks with Nvidia, a technology company that makes chips to use artificial intelligence, for a data center project.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Congress

Texas Republican is under House Ethics investigation

Published

2 hours ago

July 27, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The House Ethics Committee said in a statement Monday it is investigating Rep. Lance Gooden, a four-term Texas Republican.

It’s unclear what the committee is probing, but the Office of Congressional Conduct, an independent investigative branch of the House, sent over findings regarding Gooden to the committee June 10.

The Ethics panel plans to release an update on its investigation by Nov. 9. Committee representatives declined to comment beyond the statement.

In 2021, the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint asking for an investigation into Gooden’s apparent failure to report his stock trades in a timely manner, which is a requirement under a federal law known as the STOCK Act. The complaint was sent to the OCC.

Congress

Congressional Black Caucus members break with Jeffries, endorse against Thanedar in Michigan House race

Published

3 hours ago

July 27, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

A handful of members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Monday broke with Democratic Party leadership to endorse Michigan state Rep. Donavan McKinney in his bid to primary Rep. Shri Thanedar, an unusual move given that sitting members of the same party rarely endorse against each other.

Democratic Reps. Steven Horsford (Nev.), the former chair of the CBC, and Lateefah Simon (Calif.) called McKinney a “fighter.” Rep. Ilhan Omar (Mich.) praised McKinney as “the only trusted candidate” in the race. And Rep. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) touted McKinney for “never [losing] sight of the people.”

“We need Donavan in Congress,” said Pressley.

The race between McKinney and Thanedar, who was elected in 2022, is the latest battleground in the ongoing ideological clash between the Democratic establishment and its progressive flank.

McKinney is hoping to capitalize on the latest wave of progressive successes in primaries, but Thanedar retains the power of the incumbency — and the backing of House Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar.

Thanedar’s 2022 election marked the first time since 1955 that the majority-Black city of Detroit didn’t have a Black lawmaker representing it in Congress. And he won two years ago only after Adam Hollier, who was viewed as his most credible primary challenger, was disqualified from the ballot.

“It’s not just about having Black representation, but that is a part of what appropriate representation looks for,” Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), who had previously backed McKinney, told Blue Light News. “You have a majority-Black district, and I think that there is certainly an appetite to see that again, or to at least make sure that a Black candidate has the opportunity to present themselves.”

In a phone call, Thanedar emphasized that he has worked closely with members of the CBC during his time in office, noting that the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) was a mentor of his and, in addition to Jeffries, he has the endorsement CBC members like Rep. Bennie Thomspon (D-Miss.).

“I am fully aware that I am representing the Blackest city in America and I’m proud of it,” Thanedar, who is Indian-American, said. “My story is like Detroit’s story — I struggled through poverty, never say die, never gave up and I have that resilience that Detroit has. The resilience of Detroit is what my life is about.”

McKinney on Monday said he was “honored” by the endorsements.

“Millions of lives across the country have been made immeasurably better because of the hard work these members have done in Congress, and I look forward to working alongside these incredible leaders to pass critical legislation to protect voting rights, get big money out of our politics, and ensure all families have access to the resources they need to not just survive, but to truly thrive,” he said in a statement.