Trump to meet Mike Johnson at Mar-a-Lago as ties fray

President Mike Johnson may not have a functional majority in Congress, but his job is similar to that of Republicans who preceded him in at least one way: His duties include the difficult task of managing Donald J. Trump .

Mr. Johnson will travel to Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump's Florida estate, on Friday to join him for what the speaker billed as a major announcement on the integrity of the election. No further details were provided.

The two men had planned to come together for a policy meeting, but Mr. Johnson's team suggested a joint public appearance on an issue Mr. Trump cares deeply about, according to two people familiar with the matter.

It will give Mr. Johnson the opportunity to stand alongside Mr. Trump at a precarious moment in his tenure as president, as he struggles to rally a tiny, deeply divided majority around a legislative agenda that many of them object, while facing the threat of an ouster from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a far-right Georgia Republican and Trump ally. What makes things even trickier is that Mr. Trump, the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is helping to undermine this program.

Despite this, Republicans generally consider it good and politically useful to be physically close to Mr. Trump.

This is Trump kissing Johnson, former President Newt Gingrich said of Friday's joint appearance. It's Trump who says: he's the one talking, I'm his friend, we're together. This is a pretty important thing for him. He just has to endure.

Mr. Trump thinks of Mr. Johnson, who defended him in two impeachment trials and played a key role in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, as a friend of sorts, those close to him said. He loves the Louisiana Republican and loves his loyalty even more. (He particularly appreciated that Mr. Johnson quickly endorsed him after becoming president, a move his predecessor Kevin McCarthy always resisted). The two speak regularly, and Mr. Trump has even adopted some of the congressional endorsements that Mr. Johnson lobbied him for.

Still, if this is what a hug feels like, it's not clear that it's that much better than the alternative.

Earlier this week, Mr. Trump spoke out against Mr. Johnson's proposed legislation to extend an expiring warrantless surveillance law that national security officials say is crucial to fight terrorism and gather intelligence. Mr. Trump urged lawmakers to scrap the law underlying the program, and House ultraconservatives banded together to block it from being introduced in the House, resulting in an embarrassing defeat for Mr. Johnson .

The speaker managed to get the measure back on track in the House on Friday by shortening the extension from five to two years, appeasing far-right Republicans who believe Mr. Trump would be president again once the extension expires.

The former president also said it was stupid for the US to send aid to Ukraine and spoke out against it, even though Mr Johnson made it clear that one One of his top priorities was to introduce a bill to provide an infusion of aid. of American military assistance to kyiv.

This dynamic means that even if they present a united front at Mar-a-Lago, the two men will disagree on many issues they might be questioned about. Such is life with Mr. Trump. And for Republican speakers, this has always been the case.

Shortly after arriving at the White House in 2017, Mr. Trump deferred to Republican leaders on Capitol Hill for their legislative efforts, which included trying to repeal Obamacare and seeking tax cuts . Former President Paul D. Ryan, who had refused to campaign for Mr. Trump, took advantage of the fact that the new president had a personal stake in the success of a common Republican agenda.

Still, managing the relationship required both hand-holding and hand-wringing over who would be the last person in Mr. Trump's ear. In 2018, for example, Mr. Trump threatened to veto a major spending bill approved by Congress. Mr. Ryan had to work to convince him to sign it.

It was these fire drills where you would have to send five or six people to accompany him, recalls Brendan Buck, who was one of Mr. Ryan's main advisers. You're always going to be fighting about the last person who spoke to him, his emotional whims, what he read. It's a constant battle that you always have to fight.

The same year, Mr. Trump nearly derailed a version of the surveillance legislation he had rejected this week when he tweeted criticism that it would break with his administration, apparently after watching a segment on Fox News . Everyone was calling for him, the national security adviser rushed, people rushed to the White House, Mr. Buck remembers. Mr. Trump finally returned to his post 90 minutes later.

But Mr. Trump now has less interest in the Republican agenda in Congress, it is no longer his. And he is not surrounded by a national security apparatus that can weigh in on him and help him stay on a path more consistent with that of the party leaders in Congress.

As he settled into the White House, Mr. Trump also began to rely more on his own counsel and rely less on congressional leaders for guidance. He was not interested in following Mr. Ryan's advice, for example, to avoid a government shutdown at the end of 2018.

Mr. McCarthy spent years nurturing his relationship with Mr. Trump, going so far as to cherry-pick his favorite flavors of Starburst to curry favor. He visited the former president at Mar-a-Lago after the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack on the Capitol in an effort to heal divisions.

Mr. McCarthy has had an up-and-down relationship with Mr. Trump during his short tenure as president. He managed to secure Mr. Trump's support during the 2022 midterm campaigns, and his biggest victory might have been keeping the former president silent during his negotiations with the White House over the debt ceiling. Mr. Trump waited until the agreement was signed to criticize it.

Mr. McCarthy especially took advantage of the timing: the former president was not yet the presumptive Republican nominee during his term and was less involved in Washington's agenda.

Mr. Johnson may have the worst of both worlds: Mr. Trump is not the president, so he has no common interest in the legislative success of Republican presidents, but at this point in the presidential campaign, he listens enough to potentially complicate the situation. everything he tries to do. Mr. Trump continues to wield enough influence with Republicans on Capitol Hill that his opposition could be enough to defeat a bill, and Mr. Johnson has not had as much time to cement their relationship.

Johnson has the most difficult presidency of any since perhaps the start of the Civil War, Mr. Gingrich said. Its primary goal must be to hold the system together to achieve elections in which Trump increases Republican turnout.

People close to Mr. Trump said he valued Mr. Johnson’s policy ideas and sometimes deferred to him for support. Mr. Johnson pressured him to support Representative Mike Bost, Republican of Illinois, against Darren Bailey, a competitive challenger running a spirited MAGA campaign. It was a difficult endorsement for Mr. Trump to obtain, people familiar with the matter said, but he ultimately did so at Mr. Johnson’s urging.

Ms. Greene, for her part, said she would not back down on her criticism of Mr. Johnson or abandon the threat of trying to oust him, even if Mr. Trump gave a public boost to the speaker.

Things like that don't bother me, she said of Mr. Trump hosting an event with Mr. Johnson. Of the speaker, she added: Right now he doesn't have my support.

Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/11/us/politics/trump-johnson-elections-congress.html The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos