- By Anthony Zurcher in Washington and Nadine Yousif
- BBC News
Image source, Getty Images
Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is set to appear side-by-side with Donald Trump on Friday at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
It is their first public meeting since Mr Johnson became speaker in November.
It comes as members of Mr Johnson’s party are calling for him to be ousted from his leadership post.
House Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene filed a motion to remove Mr Johnson three weeks ago, accusing him of aligning with Democrats on Ukraine aid.
Friday’s Mar-a-Lago meeting could prove mutually beneficial for the two men.
The announced purpose of the visit is to address “election integrity”, which has been one of the former president’s top issues. Mr Trump has attributed his 2020 presidential defeat to ballot fraud, but he has provided no evidence to substantiate his claims.
The speaker’s visit and expected remarks on the topic would lend further Republican institutional support to the former president’s grievances.
For Mr Johnson, the meeting could act as a counterweight to Ms Greene’s efforts to push him out of the speakership. She considers herself a close ally of the former president and has acted as a surrogate for him on the presidential campaign trail.
In a letter penned on Tuesday to her Republican colleagues, Ms Greene warned that she will not tolerate Mr Johnson “serving the Democrats and the Biden administration” over his own party “and helping them achieve their policies”.
She has accused him of helping Democrats to pass spending legislation, but his recent effort to provide Ukraine more military aid appeared to spark her objection.
On 22 March, she filed her motion to vacate Mr Johnson, telling reporters that he had “betrayed” Republicans.
But she has not yet indicated if or when she plans to force a floor vote on her motion.
Mr Trump and his campaign will want to avoid another chaotic leadership battle among Republicans in the House of Representatives ahead of the US presidential election in November. Polling showed that the fight in October undermined voters’ confidence in the party.
By appearing publicly with Mr Johnson and showing support for the beleaguered speaker, the former president likely intends to dissuade Ms Greene from pushing her effort further.
Mr Johnson, for his part, could also use the former president’s backing for several of his legislative priorities.
Mr Trump derailed the speaker’s effort to renew a provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act earlier this week, but the legislation’s passage has returned to the negotiating table.
The speaker is also planning to bring a long-awaited Ukraine military aid bill to a vote next week. The former president’s backing, or at least a lack of vocal opposition, could pave the way for passage months after existing aid funding had lapsed.
Friday’s meeting is not the first between a Republican House leader and Mr Trump at Mar-a-Lago since the former president left the White House.
Just over three years ago, in the aftermath of the 6 January attack on the US Capitol, Kevin McCarthy, who was then the House minority leader, travelled to Florida to meet with the former president.
At the time, Mr Trump was struggling to maintain his hold on the Republican Party after the chaotic end to his first presidential term.
Mr McCarthy provided a lifeline to Mr Trump, and the former president would go on to support the California congressman’s bid to become the Speaker of the House when Republicans took control in January 2023.
The relationship became strained in the ensuing months, however, and the former president did little to help Mr McCarthy when a handful of Republicans launched a successful effort to oust him from the top congressional post last October.
Mr Johnson, who succeeded Mr McCarthy, is facing similar unrest in Republican ranks now – albeit from a smaller group. He, and many in the party’s leadership, hope he will avoid his predecessor’s fate.
