THE GAVEL ROAD There are 11 days to go before the House chooses its speaker for the 119th Congress, and by all accounts, incumbent Mike Johnson is far from a shoo-in. The messy end to the 118th, with multiple false starts on a year-end spending deal, left the House GOP’s right flank once again fuming. More importantly, President-elect Donald Trump is peeved that Johnson couldn’t deliver a debt-ceiling hike and is pondering whether he wants him to stay. Adding to the drama, the Republican majority gets even skinnier come Jan. 3. Here’s a rundown of where things stand for Johnson as he fights to keep his gavel: The public opposition: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Wednesday became the first GOP member to say he would not support Johnson as speaker, citing his handling of the spending measure. But several more Republicans have since shared concerns about Johnson’s continued service in the top spot, though they aren’t directly pledging to oppose him. “Come January, we will need to revisit how Congress operates to ensure it is structured to deliver President Trump’s MAGA agenda. Whether that requires personnel changes, process reforms, or both will be a critical discussion we must have,” said Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) on X. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) — like Cloud, a House Freedom Caucus member — said he’s planning to “assess” Johnson’s bid. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), the HFC chair, said after Friday’s final spending vote that he is “now undecided on what House leadership should look like.” “Let’s face it, he’s done a lot of stuff that has driven me crazy. But he did some things … that I think were important as well,” Biggs said. “So I’ve got to look through and see what the balance looks like.” The grumbling isn’t isolated on the hard right: Relative moderates like New York Reps. Mike Lawler and Nicole Malliotakis both expressed frustration last week with Johnson’s decision making. But few Republicans believe that side of the conference would move to jettison Johnson. The math: Republicans won 220 seats in November’s election. But former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) won’t be taking the oath on Jan. 3, leaving the GOP with 219 votes. If all 215 Democrats show up that day and Massie is as good as his word, Johnson can't afford to lose any additional GOP votes. All eyes on Mar-a-Lago: Trump hasn’t said word one about Johnson publicly since Friday’s vote, and the emerging consensus is that the president-elect will need to strongly endorse Johnson to ease his way through the election. Johnson often says he is in frequent touch with Trump, but watch to see if he makes the trip to Palm Beach to personally make his case. No bailouts here: The last time Johnson’s fate went to the House floor, after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) pressed a motion to vacate last May, Democrats rode to Johnson’s rescue. Don’t expect a repeat: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on MSNBC Sunday “there will be no Democrats available to save him” after he said Johnson reneged on the original bipartisan spending deal he’d negotiated.” — Daniella Diaz and Jordain Carney GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, Dec. 23, where we hope you’re enjoying this slow period in the week! THE OTHER GAETZ ALLEGATIONS The long awaited House Ethics Committee report on Gaetz is out, and while the most salacious allegations involving underage sex and illicit drug use are attracting the most attention, some of the panel’s lesser-noticed findings also put the former member’s behavior in a poor light. Stock in trade: The report alleged that Gaetz bought and sold stocks and cryptocurrencies from a trading account he opened in March 2021. While some of the purchases were below the public reporting threshold of $1,000, others were not — meaning he failed to file required transaction reports and did not submit an accurate annual financial disclosure statement. Another issue: He was a Republican cosponsor of the Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act, which would ban lawmakers from owning and trading individual stocks. He helped lead the charge on that bill without disclosing that he was doing just that. Like a rolling stoner: Gaetz was known around Capitol Hill as one of the biggest advocates for easing federal marijuana laws — and the report alleges, to the shock of few Hill denizens, that he purchased and used marijuana. What might be more surprising is that allegation that he set up a pseudonymous e-mail account from his House office for the purpose of purchasing marijuana. He denied using illicit drugs to the committee. — Daniella Diaz, with assist from Olivia Beavers COMER’S NEW TARGET House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) is asking former Social Security Administrator Martin O’Malley to testify before his committee next year. It’s an early signal that Republican lawmakers intend to use their powers to continue probing Biden administration officials and allies, even after Republicans assume control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. O’Malley, a former Maryland governor and presidential contender, is now running for chair of the Democratic National Committee. In a letter dated Monday, Comer asks O’Malley to testify about his agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees allowing for the continuation of remote work for some Social Security employees. Trump has blasted the agreement and said federal employees who do not return to the office will be “dismissed.” Comer argued that the agreement would “tie the hands of [O’Malley’s] successor at SSA for the duration of the next Administration, and beyond.” “Democracy is best served when an incoming, duly elected President and his appointees are empowered to actually manage the workforce they are charged with overseeing,” he wrote. — Hailey Fuchs NOTHING GOOD EVER HAPPENS AT DULLES The House Ethics Committee said it won’t be investigating an incident with Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) regarding his brief detention at Dulles International Airport. The committee met in December to discuss a misdemeanor charge filed against McCaul; it voted against further pursuing the matter after he informed them it would be dropped, according to a committee announcement Monday. “The Committee has determined to take no further action in this matter, and upon publication of this Report, considers the matter closed,” the report said. McCaul was briefly detained for appearing drunk in public and told police he had made the mistake of mixing Ambien and alcohol before flying. — Daniella Diaz and Anthony Adragna
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