Congressman Lawler: Mike Johnson Will Be Re-Elected As Speaker

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) expressed confidence over the weekend that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will win re-election as speaker next month after the new congress is sworn in.

Lawler made the remarks during a Sunday interview on ABC News’ “This Week” with Jonathan Karl when asked if Johnson will be and should be re-elected.

“Yes, and yes,” Lawler said. “The fact is that Mike Johnson inherited a disaster when Matt Gaetz and several of my colleagues teamed up with 208 Democrats to remove Kevin McCarthy, which will go down as the single stupidest thing I’ve ever seen in politics.”

“With that said, removing Mike Johnson would equally be as stupid,” he continued. “The fact is that these folks are playing with fire. And if they think they’re somehow going to get a more conservative speaker, they’re kidding themselves.”

Lawler said that Johnson is “arguably the most conservative speaker that’s ever been elected to the office.”

“He’s done a great job keeping the conference unified, getting major things off the plate, and ultimately keeping the majority, which frankly despite the best efforts of some of these same people that are now calling for Johnson’s removal, we held onto the House because of seats like mine,” he said. “And I’ll be very clear, as I was during the Kevin McCarthy fight, I’m not going to bend to their will. So, if they think somehow that they are going to end up in a stronger position by removing Mike Johnson, they’re not.”

He said that President-elect Donald Trump was given a mandate to govern and that Republicans need to deliver since they control the House and the Senate.

WATCH:

GOP Rep. Mike Lawler offers support for Mike Johnson ahead of House speakership vote.

“We can’t get anything done unless we have a speaker, including certifying President Trump’s election on Jan. 6.” https://t.co/vUflVrPDmG pic.twitter.com/2hf9kTPR0W

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 29, 2024