U.S. Representative Buddy Carter (R-GA-01) endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) to retain his leadership position on Thursday, arguing a protracted battle to select the next Speaker of the House could jeopardize the ability of President-elect Donald Trump to enact his political agenda within his first 100 days in office.
Carter endorsed Johnson and made the remarks about Trump’s first 100 days, which are historically considered a “honeymoon period” for incoming presidents, during an appearance on “Mornings with Maria.”
Carter told guest host Cheryln Casone, “I fully support Mike Johnson, and I think if President Trump does endorse him, then he will be the next speaker, and he deserves to be,” adding that Johnson has, “done as good a job as anyone could have done with the cards that have dealt to him,” and no other House Republican, “could possibly do any better than what Mike Johnson has done.”
The Georgia Republican told Fox Business, “The last thing we need right now is another situation we had like two years ago with Kevin McCarthy, let’s hope we don’t do that.”
After Casone questioned Carter about the importance of party unification to achieve Trump’s legislative goals, Carter said repeating the lengthy political battle that led to McCarthy’s brief tenure as speaker would block Trump’s agenda.
“The first 100 days are going to be very, very important to Donald Trump’s administration, to his upcoming administration, and we all understand that, and the last thing we need is a speaker’s race and the controversy there,” said Carter.
He told Casone, “Remember, Americans voted overwhelmingly to put him into office and to change things, and he’s got to do that, and he’s got to have our support to do it.”
The representative’s comments come as Trump is reportedly upset with Johnson’s performance during the recent negotiations to secure a government funding bill, with Johnson purportedly surprising president-elect with a funding bill negotiated with Democratic leadership. According to German-owned Politico, the turmoil has led Trump to reconsider his support for Johnson’s role in leadership.
Carter has a long history of supporting the president-elect, including in 2020, when he and other Georgia congressmen urged Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to re-verify the signatures on absentee ballots as Trump contested election results in the Peach State.
He also traveled to the southern border with Trump in 2021, the same year Carter warned voters the dysfunction caused by the Biden-Harris immigration crisis would reach Georgia.
Watch the full segment:
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
