Could Speaker Fight Delay Trump's Election Certification? What We Know

President-elect Donald Trump's Electoral College certification could be delayed if Congress can't pick a new speaker by Monday, a House Republican warned.

Why It Matters

Speaker Mike Johnson has the support of most House Republicans, but a handful of holdouts threaten to derail his bid to keep his job because the GOP holds only a slim majority in the chamber.

The Louisiana Republican faces difficult math to remain speaker. Republicans are expected to hold 219 seats in the House on Friday when the new Congress convenes—with one vacancy in the seat held by former Representative Matt Gaetz. The Florida Republican won reelection but resigned from office when he was nominated to be Trump's attorney general.

Johnson needs a majority of present members to win the speaker race. That would be 218 votes if all members are present, but GOP Representative Thomas Massie has already said he's a "no." This means Johnson needs every other Republican's support to win, assuming no Democrats cross party lines to support him.

What To Know

If Johnson is unable to consolidate support from the GOP, there could be a dayslong vote-a-rama in which Republicans struggle to pick another speaker, just like two years ago when the party was unable to rally around former Speaker Kevin McCarthy until January 7, 2023, after more than four days of voting.

If Republicans take the same amount of time to pick a speaker this time, they may run the risk of not certifying Trump's Electoral College victory, which is scheduled for Monday. The House has to elect a speaker before it can do any other official business, so it's not clear it could certify Trump's victory unless the speaker race wraps up by Monday.

GOP Representative Don Bacon, who is supporting Johnson, warned about this possibility in remarks to CNN on Thursday.

"To oppose Johnson now weakens the GOP and strengthens [House Minority Leader] Hakeem Jeffries. It also puts at risk the Electoral College certification scheduled for [January 6]. These guys serve as a 'fifth column' for the Dems," Bacon said.

GOP Representative James Comer on Sunday encouraged Trump to work to lock down support for Johnson to ensure there is no delay in the certification of his election victory.

"It's going to delay the certification of President Trump's election. It's going to delay the start of his first 100 days in office, which is the most important time frame of his whole presidency," Comer told Fox News.

Trump endorsed Johnson for speaker this week, but it's unclear whether his support will be enough to sway the speaker's detractors. But even if there is a delay, it's unlikely to last long enough to have any impact on when Trump takes office.

Newsweek reached out via email to Johnson's office and the Trump-Vance transition team for comment.

What People Are Saying

Donald Trump on Truth Social: "Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement."

Thomas Massie on X (formerly Twitter): "I respect and support President Trump, but his endorsement of Mike Johnson is going to work out about as well as his endorsement of Speaker Paul Ryan. We've seen Johnson partner with the democrats to send money to Ukraine, authorize spying on Americans, and blow the budget."

What Happens Next

The House is set to hold its speaker election on Friday. Both the House and Senate are expected to vote on the Electoral College certification on Monday, and Trump's inauguration is scheduled for January 20.