House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is insisting that there will be no deals made with Democrats so he can keep his gavel next year.
"I've never once spoken to any Democrat about voting for me for speaker, and I have no intention of doing that now," he said in an interview with Axios, the outlet reported Wednesday.
The problem is, Axios reports, there are at least four House Republicans who say they're in a "Never Mike" camp, and there could be more who will oppose his returning to his seat.
Republicans hold an eight-seat majority, which translates to a slim three-vote margin over the Democrats.
Johnson said that he thinks that once the election wraps up, Republicans will hold a "substantially larger" majority in the chamber than they do now, but he doesn't think that they will hold control by 25 seats or more.
"I do think it'll be substantially larger than what we have right now," Johnson said.
Back in January 2023, Republicans were holding a 10-seat majority. This meant Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., needed 15 votes to grab the vote.
He ended up agreeing to rules changes that spelled his doom later that year, including a rule that made it easier to boot a speaker and helped create his removal that October.
McCarthy also added his rivals as members of the House Rules Committee, meaning he surrendered control over legislation making it to the House floor.
But Johnson said if he keeps his seat, he thinks he will have enough votes to change rules, including changing the threshold on the motion to vacate.
The conservatives that pushed McCarthy for those changes, though, said they'll oppose Johnson's efforts.
But Johnson does work well with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Also, it was Democrats who saved Johnson's seat when they helped block Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and her move to oust him after he pushed through a Ukraine aid bill.
Meanwhile, Johnson has not commented about what his plans will be if Democrats retake control of the House, reports The Hill.
GOP lawmakers are keeping their eyes on a trio of powerful lawmakers, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., the no. 2 House GOP leader; Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump's support could influence the decision in favor of one Republican over another, particularly if he wins the election.
Nearly two dozen GOP lawmakers and other House sources told The Hill that the chambers' Republican lineup is still up in the air.
"I don't know what the chess board's going to look like, but I definitely think there are some people who are trying to make some moves," an unnamed Republican lawmaker commented.
Johnson, meanwhile, is insisting he wants to keep his seat if his party keeps control of the House, especially if Trump wins and Republicans can flip the Senate.
However, he isn't saying if he'll seek to lead the party if it loses the House majority, and most of the chambers' Republicans don't think he'll keep a leadership role if that happens.
"If we lose the majority, there will be leadership shake-up," one House Republican said, noting that Johnson's leadership team could also be in a "questionable" position.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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