Trump stated that Speaker Johnson is “doing a very good job”

Former President Donald Trump has come out in support of House Speaker Mike Johnson in an effort to show unity as Johnson grapples with opponents within the fractured Republican majority.

“He’s doing a very good job under very difficult circumstances”, Trump said at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

Johnson won the speaker’s gavel in a weeks-long fight after a group of hardliners among House Republicans orchestrated the ouster of his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy.

One of the hardliners, House member Marjorie Taylor Green, threatened Johnson with a similar move if he brought a vote on increasing aid to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion. Green also spoke out against the surveillance bill approved by the House of Representatives on Friday.

Trump called Green his friend, but expressed clear disapproval of her threat to oust Johnson.

“It’s sad that people are bringing this up because right now we have much bigger issues,” he said. – I think [Johnson] is doing a very good job. He’s doing as good a job as you’re doing. I’m sure Marjorie realizes that. She’s a very good friend of mine. And I know she has a lot of respect for the Speaker.”

After Trump and Johnson’s press conference, Green wrote on social media X that she supported Trump but did not support Johnson. She did not mention her threat to initiate a vote to remove Johnson as speaker.

Appearing alongside Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, could help Johnson strengthen his position in a chamber with a fragile Republican majority. His fellow party members have repeatedly torpedoed the speaker’s legislative priorities. For example, a surveillance bill was temporarily blocked this week, and in February it took two attempts to approve two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the top official in Joe Biden’s administration in charge of border security.