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Speaker Johnson Gets Lifeline From Trump Amid Threat to His Job

Mr. Johnson met with former President Donald J. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, where they found common cause in stoking unfounded fears of election fraud.

Speaker Johnson and Donald Trump, both wearing dark suits, stand together in front of American flags. — House Speaker Mike Johnson and former President Donald J. Trump during their news conference at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla., on Friday.Credit...Saul Martinez for The New York Times

April 12, 2024Updated 8:53 p.m. ET

Speaker Mike Johnson had a difficult week. He is facing a revolt from one of the most conservative members of his caucus that could cost him his job. The prospect of providing additional aid to Ukraine continues to meet opposition. And it took three tries for the House to renew a warrantless surveillance bill.

Then, on Friday, he flew to Florida, where the man who has contributed to many of his challenges threw him a crucial lifeline in his hour of need.

“I stand with the speaker,” former President Donald J. Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Palm Beach, Fla., as Mr. Johnson stood behind him and nodded along.

It was a message the speaker needed at a tenuous moment in his leadership, when he faces the threat from one of Mr. Trump’s most loyal allies, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, of a motion to oust him.

It is not clear how far Mr. Trump’s endorsement will go. The former president wields remarkable influence on House Republicans when it comes to stymieing legislation he opposes, but his support was not enough to keep Mr. Johnson’s predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, from a five-day, 15-round ordeal to secure the speakership in the first place.

Mr. Johnson oversees a fractious and thin majority in the House, a reality Mr. Trump acknowledged when asked about Ms. Greene’s threat to push Mr. Johnson from his position.

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