Speaker Johnson: Trump 'on the Ballot' in Midterms

President Donald Trump will be "on the ballot" in next year's midterm elections because Republicans can't afford to lose their House and Senate majorities, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Wednesday.

During a press conference outside the Capitol, Johnson warned that Democrats will "try to end the Trump administration" if they regain power.

Johnson tied the GOP's 2026 prospects directly to the survival of Trump's second-term agenda, echoing concerns that Democrats' Tuesday victories — in New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races, and with democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race — signaled a hard-left shift in the opposition party.

"I told him [Trump] this morning what we've talked about many times and what I've said here before, the president is on the ballot in 2026," Johnson said. "President Trump is on the ballot next fall because if we lose the majority, if the Republicans, the common-sense people here who are doing the job for the American people, if we lose the majority in the House and this radical element of the Democratic Party were able to take over, we've already seen that movie.”

Johnson warned that if Republicans lose control of the House, Democrats will "move to impeach [Trump] probably on the first day of the new Congress in January 2027," and "systematically unwind all the important reforms that we've done for the American people."

"President Trump is fiercely committed to us winning," Johnson said. "He's offered to do rallies, tele-town halls, and endorsements of incumbents. He is very much engaged, very dialed in, and he understands the stakes."

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., framed the midterms as a fight between Trump's record of "delivering results" and Democrats' "embrace of socialism."

"A year ago today, Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, and when he ran, he ran on very specific things — not socialism," Scalise said. "Seven out of seven swing states rejected that form of socialism that has now taken over the Democrat Party."

Scalise blasted Democrats for prolonging the ongoing government shutdown, accusing them of using "suffering and pain" to gain leverage.

"They still can't tell you what the leverage is for," he said. "To go boast to the socialist Mamdani wing of their party that they're fighting Donald Trump."

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., defended the administration's record while ridiculing Democrats' post-election rhetoric.

"While the Democrats have been busy playing politics with people's lives, President Trump has been hard at work delivering on the mandate 77 million Americans gave him one year ago," Emmer said. "He delivered the largest middle-class tax cut in history, ended eight wars, brought illegal border crossings to record lows, and made America respected again on the world stage."

Emmer said Tuesday's elections revealed how far the Democratic Party has moved left, citing the "communist mayor in New York City" and "a Virginia attorney general who said he wanted to murder his political opponent."

"The Democrat Party of today is not your grandfather's Democrat Party," Emmer said. "Pro-terrorist, Marxist radicals are now the left's mainstream."

Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, struck an optimistic tone.

"Today marks one year since President Trump won the 2024 election," she said. "Since that day, Republicans secured our border, unleashed American energy, and delivered the largest tax cut for working families in history. Promises made, promises kept."

With Trump actively campaigning for GOP incumbents and Republicans uniting behind a message of economic growth, energy independence, and national security, Johnson said the path forward is clear.

"President Trump is on the ballot in 2026," he said. "We're ready for that contest — and ready to win."