Trump endorses House Speaker Mike Johnson amid Republican infighting

President-elect Donald Trump on Monday threw his support behind Speaker Mike Johnson amid a fight over the House gavel that will culminate in a vote at the end of the week.

"Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man," Trump wrote at the end of a lengthy social media post. "He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement."

The endorsement is an early win for Johnson, whose speakership hangs in the balance. An endorsement from Trump could persuade hardliners to fall in with Johnson prior to the certification of the 2024 election on Jan. 6.

With Republicans holding one of the smallest House majorities in history, every single vote counts. If all members are present and voting, Johnson can only afford to lose two members of his conference to retain his gavel when the House returns to session on Friday.

But with the recent resignation of former Rep. Matt Gaetz, the total number of the House will be 434 members with 219 Republicans and 215 Democrats. This means, Johnson’s can afford only one defection and a second would block him from getting the gavel. At least one Republican has already said he won't support Johnson and others are on the fence.

The speaker vote comes after several House Republicans grew frustrated with Johnson during the final days of the 118th Congress, which saw a bitter fight over spending that nearly caused a government shutdown before Christmas.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who was tapped by Trump to run the new "Department of Government Efficiency,” started the infighting when he trashed the bipartisan funding bill in a post on X as the House prepared to vote on the measure. Trump later in the day issued a statement opposing the bill and saying he wanted the funding bill to either raise or eliminate the nation's debt ceiling before his inauguration on Jan. 20, a demand that Musk endorsed.

The bipartisan bill ultimately failed. A bill that included Trump's debt ceiling demands also failed. A third attempt that included $100 billion for disaster aid, $30 billion for farmers and a one-year extension of the farm bill, provisions that were in the original measure, passed 38 minutes past the deadline on Dec. 21.

Musk on Monday also backed Johnson, writing on X, "I feel the same way! You have my full support," in response to Johnson thanking Trump for his endorsement.

Notably, neither Trump or Musk's endorsements mentioned the debt ceiling, but their backing was welcome news for Johnson.

In his post, Trump also boasted about his successful 2024 White House run, praising Republicans for running a “legendary” campaign while railing against President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

He urged Republicans to "not blow" an opportunity for a "relief" from the outgoing administration -- calling for Republicans to support Johnson.

But the announcement from the president-elect didn't dissuade at least one of Johnson's opponents.

"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," Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., wrote on X. "We’ve seen Johnson partner with the democrats to send money to Ukraine, authorize spying on Americans, and blow the budget."

Massie previously told ABC News he would not be voting for Johnson as speaker.

Indiana Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz said she wants "assurances" that Johnson can deliver Trump's agenda before she would support him.

“President Trump will be able to save America only if we have a speaker with courage, vision and a plan - also public commitment to the American people how he will help deliver President Trump’s agenda to drain the swamp,” Spartz wrote on X after Trump’s endorsement.

She earlier suggested to Fox News that if Johnson is not willing to deliver on the president-elect’s agenda, he’s not worthy of being elected speaker again.

“If he wants to be a speaker, he needs to commit publicly how he's going to be fulfilling his constitutional duties,” Spartz said on "Fox & Friends," adding, “I'm not asking him to go beyond what he has to do by Constitution.”

Spartz also said some of her GOP colleagues are interested in the speaker’s gavel, but she wouldn’t reveal which members because they wouldn’t publicly oppose Johnson.