Talking to the three high Home Republican leaders over the previous three days on the Home GOP retreat right here in Doral, Fla., revealed how President Trump is each the glue holding the delicate majority collectively and an earthquake that threatens to fracture it.
I sat down with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for a fireplace chat on the Home Republican retreat this week — which passed off on the Trump Nationwide Doral resort — and bought some uncommon insights on how he sees his relationship with the president.
As soon as information of the interview was public, I bought loads of options from Democrats and outsiders on what to ask him about — principally having to do with how he might settle for Trump’s calls for and actions.
However Johnson informed me he “fully” supports Trump’s move to freeze federal grants — a response that surprised approximately zero reporters in the audience. Remember, Johnson said last week he would not “second-guess” Trump’s pardoning of violent Jan. 6 rioters, regardless of saying the day earlier than inauguration that he anticipated the pardons to be on a case-by-case foundation.
Johnson, who has grow to be a part of Trump’s inside circle, acknowledged that he doesn’t criticize the president. His tenet is Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not converse in poor health of any fellow Republican.
However he additionally insisted he isn’t a “yes man” after I requested how he handles his disagreements with Trump behind closed doorways once they have variations of opinion on laws and technique.
“I don’t agree with my wife 100 percent of the time,” Johnson stated. He famous that he was on Trump’s impeachment protection staff. “One of the reasons I think he respects this relationship that he and I have is that I give him counsel.”
Johnson went on:
→ “The job of a counselor, or somebody who is ostensibly one of an adviser, or somebody who brings a different perspective is, you’re not supposed to be a yes man. I’m not. And I think that’s healthy. I think he respects it.”
JOHNSON’S REACTION TO TRUMP FLOATING searching for a 3rd time period made me consider the adage coined by the conservative author Salena Zito in 2016: Take Trump severely, however not actually.
In a speech to Republicans on Monday, Trump stated he didn’t assume he might search a 3rd time period however then turned to Johnson and requested: “Am I allowed to run again, Mike?”
“That was tongue in cheek,” Johnson, a constitutional lawyer, informed me of Trump’s quip. “Of course, I can’t change the Constitution, but you know, there are means to do that. I don’t think he’s suggesting a constitutional amendment. So I think he’s having sport with the media.”
→ “I take everything he says seriously, but I think that was clearly tongue in cheek. We laughed about it.”
That is the second time Trump has joked to Home Republicans about searching for a 3rd time period, and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) final week proposed a constitutional modification, which has nearly zero likelihood of passing, that might permit Trump to hunt a 3rd time period.
You possibly can watch my full 25-minute fireplace chat with Johnson right here.
THOUGH YOU WON’T CATCH GOP LEADERS EXPLICITLY saying they’re defying Trump, learn between the strains and also you’ll see one Trump demand that would spur the primary main fissure between congressional Republicans and the president: The debt restrict.
Trump, livid on the prospect of Democrats doubtlessly having leverage over Republicans with the must-pass job to lift the debt restrict this yr, has demanded that Republicans not let Democrats extract any concessions as a situation of elevating the nation’s borrowing restrict — which is predicted to require motion by this summer season.
That made GOP leaders initially think about together with a debt restrict hike of their formidable Trump agenda laws on taxes, border, vitality and extra, which is shifting by means of the particular finances reconciliation course of that circumvents the necessity for Democratic votes to surpass the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. However it may very well be inconceivable to fulfill calls for for fiscal hawks within the GOP who resist elevating the borrowing restrict.
“I think there’s some concern in the Senate that that might be difficult to do on a partisan basis, and so it may wind up being a bipartisan exercise,”Johnson stated in our fireplace chat, saying the technique resolution shouldn’t be last.
That’s precisely the other of what Trump needs.
Home Majority Chief Steve Scalise (R-La.) gave a stronger sign that the borrowing restrict may very well be packaged with one thing like catastrophe assist or common authorities funding
“Right now, it’s been more discussed on the side of the government funding and disaster recovery bills, as opposed to budget reconciliation,” Scalise informed me in a sit-down this week, nothing there are GOP members within the Home and Senate who’ve signaled they are going to by no means vote for a debt ceiling improve — a minimum of not with out extraordinarily deep spending cuts.
→ “Getting spending under control is a big priority. We can do that in budget reconciliation. If you’re working on a government funding bill, that’s a different coalition. If you’re working on the debt ceiling, it’s a different coalition. So you know, there’s going to be a lot of different things we do throughout the year that involve different coalitions within Congress.”
Learn extra on the GOP leaders’ debt restrict quandary right here.
EVEN AS HE PUTS GOP LEADERS between a rock and a tough place on some points, Trump is maybe crucial power in maintaining the razor-thin GOP majority collectively as laws.
Take it from the Home Republican Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), who predicted Trump will likely be a “significant force” in getting Republicans on the identical web page.
“I’m pretty sure you’re not going to want to be the one in your district where the president shows up to tell everybody you’re the one blocking the advancement of his agenda,” Emmer informed me in a one-on-one on the GOP retreat.
Emmer pointed to Trump’s affect in serving to Johnson get reelected to the Speakership on the primary poll on the opening day of Congress. Trump referred to as preliminary holdouts Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) and Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) to assist sway them to modify their votes and again Johnson.
“This time, with 218 members — soon to be 217 and no margin for error — the game begins and ends in the House. The president sets the tone, the House has to perform, and then the Senate will have to get on board,” Emmer stated.
BOTH TRUMP AND VICE PRESIDENT VANCE confused the necessity for unity on the reconciliation technique in feedback to Home Republicans on Monday and Tuesday.
Trump’s feedback bordered on pleading: “Everything is so hard — always have two or three or five or something people that just don’t want to do it. And you just gotta do it. You just gotta do it. Make life easy.”
BUT WHILE REPUBLICANS undertaking unity and say they’re wanting to move the Trump agenda, there was an undercurrent of tension that ran by means of the GOP retreat about delivering on the litany of Trump’s guarantees on tax cuts, border investments and extra.
Privately, members and workers acknowledged there will likely be loads of pace bumps and hurdles over the following few months as they craft the invoice. And whereas Republicans say they know nobody will get every little thing they need, it stays to be seen how a lot a few of the staunchest teams — SALT Caucus on one facet, fiscal hawks on the opposite — are prepared to bend.
Learn extra on Trump’s legislative agenda calls for squeezing Home Republicans
OTHER NUGGETS FROM INTERVIEWS WITH JOHNSON, SCALISE, AND EMMER:
JOHNSON says the Speakership has strengthened his religion: “It has been strengthening of my faith. I believe God has pleased our efforts and that he has a plan for our country. And I know some people are offended to hear me say that, but I don’t really much mind it.”
JOHNSON additionally stated there’s a dedication to maintain the reconciliation invoice deficit impartial.
SCALISE signaled two seemingly areas Republicans will flip to to hunt “savings” to pay for the reconciliation invoice: work necessities for welfare packages (seemingly Medicaid) and rescinding electrical car mandates.
EMMER, a high crypto advocate in Congress, shouldn’t be involved in regards to the President Trump and Melania Trump meme cash that have been launched final week. Emmer stated he had “no problem” with meme cash generally. “There are people who think these coins, tokens, whatever, are really big, and then after time, they’re not so big,” he stated.
And whereas he stated he hadn’t thought loads in regards to the Trump meme coin particularly, Emmer stated: “I just know that when it comes to Donald J. Trump or his family, no matter what they do, somebody’s going to criticize him.”
I’m Emily Brooks, Home management reporter at The Hill, increasing to cowl the broader right-wing ecosystem, influences, and debates in Washington, D.C. Ship me observations and ideas: ebrooks@thehill.com.