By Julia Johnson. Media: Washingtonexaminer
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) met with former President Donald Trump and National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson (R-NC) Monday, during which the men discussed growing the currently slim Republican majority in 2024.
“Just had a great meeting with President Trump this Presidents’ Day. Together, we will grow the majority and save America!” Johnson said of his Mar-a-Lago meeting with the former president and leading Republican candidate for president.
Johnson spokesman Greg Steele told the Washington Examiner in a statement, “Speaker Johnson met with President Trump in Florida on Monday to discuss growing the majority and securing Republican victories up and down the ballot in November.”
Hudson’s attendance was further confirmed by the NRCC.
Trump’s campaign did not provide comment to the Washington Examiner.
Johnson’s campaign pointed the Washington Examiner to a video released by the speaker earlier this month, calling on other Republicans to unite behind Trump as the Republican nominee for president.
With the general election approaching in November, Republicans are hoping to expand their majority, which would make bill passage much easier, relative to the current Congress, which has been plagued by marginal victories and pivotal votes blocked by single members.
Specifics of the discussion were not revealed, and it’s unclear what the Republican plan is to make gains. The NRCC hit record-high fundraising in 2023, raising over $91 million going into a presidential election year, giving may be impacted by Trump’s likely ascension to the status of Republican nominee when the majority is decided by a handful of swing districts.
The Republican National Committee saw a relatively poor fundraising year in 2023, with $87.2 million raised, $93.5 million spent, $1.8 million in debts, and just $8 million in cash on hand. Trump faces his own money matters, as he owes significant court-ordered fines and is slapped with growing legal bills. In addition to the more than $55 million spent on legal fees by the former president in 2023, he’s been ordered to pay $354.9 million and $83 million in separate court cases this month.
Between Trump’s hefty legal costs and the RNC’s struggle to compete with the Democratic National Committee going into the general election, some have expressed concerns about Republican chances. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has been vocal on the issue, accusing Trump of wanting to use the RNC as his “piggy bank.”
Haley spokeswoman AnnMarie Graham-Barnes said in a recent statement, “Donald Trump and the RNC lost in 2018, 2020, and 2022.”
“Now Trump is using his presidential campaign to pay his legal bills, and the RNC is already effectively bankrupt. Republicans won’t beat Joe Biden and Democrats in November with a candidate who is spending more money on court cases than talking to voters,” she added.