one congressman republican thomas massey said he won't be supporting johnson.ther congressmen, andy harris, scott perry,, for instance are also on the fence, but johnson's allies are warning against a fight over the gavel. they see a speaker's battle as a distraction and will delay them from enacting president-elect trump's agenda. >> i fully support mike johnson and he's done as good a job as anyone could have done with the cards he's been dealt and who else is going to do it? we have been given a mandate by the american people. president trump has been given a mandate. the first 100 days are extremely important. we do not need a protracted speaker's race. reporter: we're still waiting for president-elect trump to weigh in on the speaker's vote. republicans say he will have the ultimate word on whether johnson stays or goes. will, rachel, and charlie? will: thank you, madeline for that. let's continue to analyze this with fox news sunday anchor shannon bream who joins us now. reporter: good morning, guys. will: you know, we're just sitting here during madeline

congress will hold inspectorship vote one week, can only forward to lose one republican vote, thomas masseyowing not to support johnson indiana congresswoman victoria spartz has not decided whether or not going to vote for him pennsylvania congressman scott perry telling me where he stands on speaker johnson's leadership >> do you support speaker johnson i think mike has done admiral job under tough conditions keeping options open want a conversation with mike i don't know where this is going with thomas massey saying hard know the people like victoria likely a no we've got to make sure the best for the job under the circumstances. cheryl: a joining me south carolina congressman, a member one of the house judiciary oversight committee of subcommittee weaponization of federal government legitimize seems more chorus i add nicole malliotakis to should a joined me last hour saying they have concerns about mike johnson's leadership and they have questions they want to have a conversation. >> conversations certainly healthy i think thing we have to remember a republicans in the house we've had th

the math gets interesting because thomas massey has said he is a no on johnson.if he votes present as opposed to naming another candidate, johnson could lose a couple more. you have to have the majority from members who named a speaker. if somebody votes present, the math gets easier for mike johnson. what is helping mike johnson most of all right now is nobody else has a pathway to get the votes either. nobody else would be in a position to perform from the conservative any better than mike johnson. mike johnson had a john bader leadership in the last two years. he raise the debt ceiling and funded ukraine but he can't do anything else because he needs hakeem jeffries to be part of the coalition. in the absence of somebody who can take the job from johnson, it's a matter of how much pain do republicans want to inflict on themselves if they make this go to multiple ballots. trump's endorsement helps, but as we learned from the last carousel of republican speaker candidates, trump's endorsement is not permanent. if it goes two or three votes, maybe trump starts li

the position may not be a lock as thomas massey and victoria sparks are opposing johnson despite the t from trump. massey flatout refusing to vote for him. sparks posted this oven x, i understand why president trump is endorsing speaker johnson as he did speaker ryan. we need assurances that speaker johnson won't sell us out to the swamp. speaker johnson can only afford to lose one republican vote to maintain the gavel. any potential leadership battle could delay the certification of the 22024 election. north carolina congressman greg murphy joined me on this program last week and he called out those who oppose johnson. >> we have some folks, cheryl, truth be told, wake up in the morning and instead of saying how can we get something done, they say how can i obstruct and get on media. and that's extremely difficult. cheryl: joining me now is missouri congressman mark alford, a member of the house armed services, small business and agriculture committees. what did you make of that comment from him, congressman, from your colleague? >> well, look, i've been in these conference meetings

kentucky congressman thomas massey vowing not to support johnson.ongresswoman victoria sparks says she's not decided whether or not she's vote for him. several lawmakers joining me on this program yesterday about the speakership battle. listen. >> i fully support mike johnson. the last thing we need right now is another situation like we had two years ago with kevin mccarthy. >> many of the members would not be in the house had it not been for donald j. trump. to have a speaker's battle, all that does is is a distraction, delays getting the america first policy first and we have some folks, truth be told, wake up in the morning and instead of saying how can we get something done, they say how can i obstruct and get on media. mike has done i believe a very, very good job. we're not going to get perfect. i think kicking him out and going through the same absolute chaos that matt gaetz started with mccarthy last session is absolutely wrong. it does a horrible thing for president trump's first 100 days. cheryl: joining me now is pennsylvania congressman

i know folks like thomas massey, we are classmates, and i respect tom massey because he is very consistent the deficit, on raising the debt ceiling, et cetera. so, in a narrow majority where you can only really lose two votes, you know, i don't think donald trump is going to have the same sway as he did in his first term. now, is he willing to negotiate with us? we are happy to meet them at the 50 yard line, but it has got to be the 50 yard line. if they start moving the ball over toward their direction, i think they will end up losing democratic votes as you saw this past week. >> talking about the midfield, congress did have one bipartisan win this week with the passage of the social security fairness act. how did this help public workers and what about the concerns about the $190 billion price tag over the next decade could push it over into insolvency? >> yeah, you saw a bipartisan group of members of congress, senators come together to shore up what really has been a challenge for teachers, law enforcement, public sector workers, to make sure that if they have paid into social securit

congressman thomas massey vowing not to support johnson while congrecongresswoman victoria sps says she in the last hour where he stands on speaker johnson's leadership. watch this. do you support speaker johnson or not? >> i think that mike has done an aadmirable job under tough conditions. i want to keep my options open. i want to have a conversation with mike. i don't know where this is going right now. with thomas massey saying he's a hard no, people like victoria sparks saying they're likely a no, that's concerning and we just got to make sure that we get the best person for the job under the circumstances. cheryl: joining me now is new york congresswoman nicole malliotakis, a member of the house ways and means committee and republican conference assistant whip. i want to get your reaction to what we're seeing as this razor thin vote is a week from today. >> well, i like so many others that you've been speaking with also have questions and concerns and i think this week should be an opportunity for us to raise those concerns with speaker johnson. i think that nobody at the end of t

with thomas massey already saying he's a hard no, victoria sparks saying they're likely a no, that'sised a lot of concerns about how we're going to do things. are we going to work within our conference to get the solution or are we automatically going to run to the democrats to get votes? there needs to be a better do communication between leadership and membership. cheryl: elon musk posted this today in response to massey today, quote, you might be right but let's see how it goes, end quote. that's from elon musk. where do you stand on all of this? >> i support speaker johnson 100%. i supported him when he was running and i supported jim jordan. we went through this, all this. i think he's done a very add admirable job. i agree with scott perry there. i don't think anyone else in the conference can do the work mike johnson has done. no one else is as steeply vetted in our constitutional conservativeism, he's a movement conservative. he is also extremely smart. he is also -- he has the humility and patience to work with every member. he understands the political side of this, he is a

already two republicans, paul kosar and thomas massey to say they won't back him.lor greene loaded the idea of picking met the new leader. a suggestion? elon musk. [ laughter ] joining us now is democratic congresswoman from illinois, sean kasten. good to see you, sir. >> good to see you. >> i am wondering, you all had a congress meeting, a caucus meeting yesterday, i was going into the hit, and calling all these democratic members of congress and they were all like, we are going into our caucus meeting now to decide what we are to do about this bill, but i also have to imagine you discussed speaker johnson, as well. democratic leader hakeem jeffries said this week that democrats will not vote to bail out johnson in the speaker battle. is that something you all discussed and is that posture you believe, going to hold in this, coming out of christmas break next year? >> so, we definitely did not discuss that last night. bear in mind, we have had maybe 10 minutes before we went into that meeting, we were trying to understand what was in the bill's text. it was very m

i think you've got folks like thomas massey who have way too much power now.epublican control of the house. when you have that kind of power and you are let's just say recalcitrant, you probably will use it to your advantage and i think that's what he's going to end up doing. >> mike: down the coast to jeff paul. >> i tell you what, this is not a job i would want. it seems very stressful. you are in for a time and then everyone tries to take your job or push you out. i think that's right though, i think president trump could really help him in this particular situation by saying that he supports him. speaker johnson has been nothing but supportive in standing right next to trump through these last couple of years so i do think trump sort of owes him a lifeline. it is politics. he's going to have to work across the aisle. i know some republicans don't like that but that's politics. >> mike: here in washington, mary. >> it's a weird time in history when there's more drama associated around a speaker of the house, one of the most unpopular entities which is that

thomas massey is not freedom caucus and he's adjacent and the first person to say he's not going to support mike johnson, but several conservatives are now saying they're in a different position over how johnson has handled his fight to keep the government funded. conservatives feel like they have the upper hand right now. alexandria ocasio-cortez smart, savvy, quick on her feet but jerry won the race and alexandria ocasio-cortez did not. are you surprise odder more dc stuff the rest of us don't follow. >> the republicans in the past especially leading committees and they don't have turns and a difference of some of the younger members trying to challenge conley got a lot of backing from centrists and some democrats have concerns about aoc and more progressive views. >> con fir mission hearings for the cabinet nominees are coming and what can we expect? these are like many trials and it's without a presiding judge and saling through confirmation and getting support from the other side and do some nominees have more work yet to be done to get over the finish line? >> we have to make sure the

support johnson as well, i think an admiral job under tough conditions keeping options open with thomas masseyaying a hard no people like victoria spartz saying likely a no that is concerning. >> a lot of concerns about how to do things working within conference to get solution or run to democrats, to get votes, there needs a better communication between leadership and membership. cheryl: virginia congressman ben cline machinery house budget judiciary appropriations china select committees first question are you supporting mike johnson friday? >> cheryl i will be supporting mike johnson doing a good job under challenging circumstances, he has a conservative part fighting for the same conservative goals that helps to-elect donald trump president we can't keep on sidelines quarterback going to help deliver for the coach in this case donald trump setting the agenda we're anxious to complement it once back into session on -- >> you are supporting johnson what do you make of issue with regards to the debt ceiling in this fight that there is not that two-year extension in place. you know president t

cheryl: but some republicans still not convinced of johnson's leadership kentucky congressman thomas massey refusing to endorse speaker this is yesterday. he posted, we have seen johnson partner the democrats to send to ukraine authorized spying on americans, victoria spartz also again yesterday examine demanding you insurances s inspector is committed to trump's agenda will quote drain the swamp i spoke with mark alford, new york congressman nick langworthy about the speaker's future. >> we do have issues in our conference but nothing that can't be wording out mike johnson is person to lead this, trump actually has the mandate he is going to be calling the plays. and johnson is aligned with trump to make sure his mandate carried out in u.s. house. >> of course i support speaker joining with tournament president trump time to moved forward fixed his quarterback on team mike johnson, it is time for us to get to work-elect mike johnson friday. so that we can start governing. cheryl: samantha reaction? >> congressman is absolutely right time for republicans to get to work, there is a will the

congressman thomas massey and victoria sparks with opposing johnson despite the endorsement with massey to vote for him due to his support of ukraine aid and other issues. speaker can only afford to lose one republican vote to maintain the gavel. any potential speakership battle could delay the certification of the 2024 election. johnson vowing to unite the party on hannity last night. watch. >> i spent a lot of time talking with each of them, i spoke with victoria for about 45 minutes. i think that those members and all of them want to be a part of the solutions. there made big promise toss their constituents in this campaign cycle. we have to deliver now. it's the media and the left that wants to divide us and distract is. we can't fall into the trap. we have to stay united. if we do we can bring about the america first agenda quickly and deliver for the american people. cheryl: joining me now is new york congressman nick langworthy, a member of the house oversight, agriculture and rules committees. good morning to you. >> good morning. cheryl: the vote is friday. and that margin is s

republican thomas massey says he's more concerned about the congressman who had dementia and is stillight. coming up, donald trump previews a string of executive actions to tackle woke policies. >> with a stroke of my pen on day one, we're going to stop the transgender lunacy. we will keep men out of women's sports. ashley: and more on this, on his day one priorities, we'll be talking about it in the show. lots to talk about, by the way. and teens by the way using stronger and stronger marijuana with dangerously high levels of thc. we're going to ask doc siegel about the risks with that, that's coming up next. ♪ [cheerful music] [phone ringing] not all multimillionaires build their wealth the same way, you have... the fearless investor. the type a cpa. the boot strapper. the boot maker. hee-ha. but many do have something in common. we all trust schwab with our wealth. thanks to our award-winning service, low costs and transparent advice, every day, over a million multi-millionaires, trust schwab with more than three trillion dollars of their wealth. ♪ big news for mahomes! i'm switchi

there are many, marjorie taylor greene, thomas massey who said earlier today -- elon musk as speaker, i don't think anybody else in this body wants the job. but by all accounts, speaker mike johnson still lost the gavel. >> what a world, what a time to be alive. nbc's julie circuit, thank you. thank you for putting up all the noise around you in order to get the information to us. but bring in jive paul of washington. congresswoman, what a mess, i guess, is the way to put it. from your read as you are talking to your colleagues both in the democratic party and republican colleagues, who is actually in charge? is it elon musk? is that donald trump? because it certainly doesn't seem to be mike johnson. >> well, look, joy, first of all, i think hakeem jeffries is the person who literally makes this happen, right? it's hakeem jeffries and democrats who have bailed out republicans again and again and again when they fracture, and they have embarrassing situations like they did on the floor yesterday when they are from the majority. put up a bill that contains the 11th hour demand from dona

congressman thomas massey has already announced he will be voting for someone else.an victoria sparks says she is undecided. house freedom caucus andy hair use is undecided what leadership should look like next year and open the door to other freedom caucus members revolting. johnson's predicament follows his deal with democrats on the 1500 page government funding bill later derailed by trump and musk. then johnson passed a clean cr without resolving the debt ceiling issue. a source tells fox news the president-elect was pretty unhappy with that move. here is what some of his numbers are saying what needs to change for johnson to get the gavel again. >> i think he has to show me that we'll be serious about making these cuts. >> i don't necessarily think the answer is to replace the speaker. but i do think there needs to be a better understanding between leadership and the membership. >> we need to back president trump and if president trump will back johnson i'm sure he will be the speaker. >> and griff, another thing to keep in mind. democrats saved him last time. j

right now congressman thomas massey is that republican. for someone else.ndecided and so is house caucus chairman andy harris who could open the door to other freedom caucus members revolting as well. matthew says there are others out there as well. >> i have talked to a few who seem like they won't vote for him but you have to ask them. i won't portray anyone's position. >> will you vote president or someone else? >> somebody else. >> remember jackie, democrats in the spring saved johnson from that motion to vacate filed by marjorie taylor greene but the politics have sensed changed in the last week. hakeem jeffries says there will be no democrats this time around to save mike johnson. >> thank you so much. >>> a dark mood emerging among democrats after their november election losses. one strategist telling "the new york times" the parties brand is in the toilet while political reports feel that the party is weak and overly focused on diversity and elites. let's bring in caroline downey, national review staff writer and robber wolf, former economic advisor

that means if thomas massey, the kentucky congressmen, votes against johnson's speakership as he sayste. and that as it. and remember if they do not get the speakership about detailed this will also delay confirming trump's own election to the presidency. and so everybody understands that the house majority is a razor-thin margin it, but also in terms of how much time trump has. he says every moment is precious. every day he can use to pass his agenda is necessary. the longer the infighting continues the slower his ability to succeed and push his agenda forward. >> edward: and she wants to move quickly. we will have to leave it right there appreciated thank you for the debate. >>> to times square courtesy of earth cam where they are getting ready to ring in the new year tomorrow night. nick foy with a preview of the story and those preparations. >> so 1 million people are set to ring in the new year here in times square tomorrow. what does that have to do with the israel-hamas a war in the middle east to? the nypd commissioner will explain for herself next. keep it locked. shopify's p

know the math gets a little interesting because thomas massey from kentucky has already said he's a nos present as opposed to naming another candidate, johnson can lose a couple more. the math is you have to have a majority of the votes from members elect who named a speaker. if somebody just votes resident the math gets a little easier for mike johnson. i think what is helping mike johnson the most of all right now is nobody else really has a pathway to get the votes, either, and nobody else would be in the position to perform from the conservative point of view, any better than mike johnson. mike johnson had a remarkably john weiner like leadership in the last two years. he raised the debt ceiling, kept the government open twice and funded ukraine but he can't do anything else because he needs talking jeffries to be a part of the coalition progressive in the absence of somebody that can take the job from mike johnson, it's just a matter of how much pain the republicans want to inflict upon themselves if they decide to make this go through multiple ballots. the last thing i say is don

thomas massey is one of those. it -- offsets by getting into a back-and-forth between president electron. he's been calling him ulcerative names. there's a vote set apparently for 6:00 p.m. tonight and as far as i know at this moment, democrats don't seem very excited about this. >> neil: i wonder when you have all of that, if something implodes there is no plan b. >> they've been trying to come up with a plan b. i've been talking with my sources for a couple of days and i had heard about this debt ceiling plan that the president had. i wasn't allowed to report on it because it was still off the record. they were waiting to see if you would give it the green light and speak about it himself. this was all being talked and negotiated with -- along with leadership more. president-elect trump really wanted this debt ceiling done this session and schumer backed away from that and basically negotiated his own deal with speaker mike johnson which is what we saw come out earlier this week. here we are again with a brand-ne

are we going to do that in a bill where we can allow one person to sit o you're going to have a thomas massey roy or some of these people, they don't care as they showed yesterday what president trump has to say. they're not concerned about president trump's agenda. they are concerned about getting the social media engagement and i don't want to completely disparage them because they are strong, smart people who believe in something but you know what? our government is founded on compromise. i'm as conservative as they are. i understand if you want to win you've got to be governing and if president trump doesn't have a governing majority we're not going to get our agenda through and who is going to suffer? the american people. and go back and look at what -- from george washington, his fare well speech, at some point we have to look at the greater good of america, not the individual one thing i can't vote for. i heard members all day yesterday, i can't vote because we were asked to take the debt ceiling out. larry kudlow said take the debt ceiling out. we can disagree. if you have one seat ma

at least one republican congressman, thomas massey of kentucky, says the report is all trump needs totify widespread pardons to january 6th rioters. something trump says he'll do his first hours in office. joining us now is founder of democracy docket and partner at elias law group. good morning, mark. >> thank you for having me. >> can i just say before we jump into the nitty-gritty of this is that online and in conservative media circles this report has actually been translated quite differently. saying that it was the fbi who they had people -- they themselves orchestrated what happened on january 6th. they were naming the number of informants. they were cherry picking pieces of this report and putting it into, you know, their news basically saying that, see, it was d deep state that fueled this. the fbi had people on the ground. the fbi had folks that went into the capitol. it wasn't donald trump and his supporters. and i'm wondering what you think about that assertion? >> yeah, there has always been a fundamental incore heerns to the right wing's explanations of january 6th becau

i have a lot of respect for thomas massey and some of the others that stood up in the budget fight.hey may not have it exactly right but the courage to stand up and say something. what happens in congress they keep sliding things in and sliding things in. leadership says to take care of that member and the five or six aligned with him or her let's put this in there and never thinking about us. we're about to go into christmas and right after christmas is tax season and balancing how much do we have to pay in april or february whenever you pay your taxes, how much we have to pay at the end of tax season with how much money we can spend on our family now. this is a good opportunity to see this is where the money goes, it goes to this stuff. >> julie: it should be going back to the american people. joey jones, thank you very much for talking to us and merry christmas to you. >> merry christmas. thank you. >> julie: it is that critical time of year when my kids and i make very long journey and set out on our search for santa claus and to find out if we made the nice list more importantl

at least one house republican thomas massey of kentucky said he won't support johnson for speaker inhis confidence in speaker johnson, trump could only muster and i quote, we'll see. that's ominous buzz the gop house majority will be even smaller in the 119th congress and johnson can't afford to lose more than one vote. if he is to hang onto that precious gavel. joining me now, jasmine wright. political reporter at notus, kevin baron, former executive editor of defense one. and dana millbank, he is the author of fools on the hill. the dunces who burn down the house. thank you all very much for coming to the saturday show. well, dana since you're the one with the book with the appropriate title, should we even be surprised by what happened on capitol hill this week? >> anyone who is surprised has not been paying attention the last two years. this is exactly the sort of thing going on issue after issue. remember the border bill they were working toward and trump steps in and the whole thing dissolves into chaos. i'm surprised that the trump chaos has begun before he takes office but th

mike has done an admirable job under tough conditions but i'm going to keep ply options open with thomas masseyhe's a hard no, victoria sparks saying they're likely a no, that's concerning. >> raised a lot of concerns about how we're going to do things. are we going to work within our conference to get the solution or are we automatically going to run to the democrats to get votes? there needs to be a better communication. cheryl: joining me now is congressman michael rulli. congressman, your reaction to the future of mike johnson. >> well, i think it's going to be a little bit better than the narrative that you're seeing presented in the media. i think the conference will have a coming to god moment on friday. i will be voting for the speaker. i urge any conferenc into leadership's office, get your grievances taken care of in the next three or four days and let's circle the wagons, let's get behind speaker johnson. if we don't do that, we're going to repeat history of 2016. i wasn't there in 2016. we saskatchewan deader a -- squandered a whole year. we have two years to get president trump's a

but i want to have a conversation with mike, i don't know where this is going right now but with thomas masseyas a hard no, that is concerning and we just got to make sure that we get the best person for the job. >> meanwhile, donald trump has been noticeably silent on who should hold the gavel in the new congress, some of johnson's supporters are a little bit alarmed, one of them telling politico there's no way johnson will win the gavel without trump not only endorsing him but actively whipping for him. april ryan and joe walsh are back with us. >> i mean, the facts speak for themselves. >> i'm just putting the question on the table, and anybody can free willy this all day long. who are they going to replace mike johnson with, because they are talking about i'm going to hold my power, this doesn't look good for him, well who are you going to put up instead? let me look, is it out there -- >> i think that is why president trump is holding his tongue until he makes a determination, we can play as many games and go to mar-a-lago and play golf as much as you want but if he doesn't like you, you

with thomas massey already saying he's a hard no people like victoria sparks saying they are likely aat's concerning. >> just raises a lot of concerns about how we're going to do things. are we going to work within our conference to get the solution or automatically going to run to the democrats to get votes? there needs to be a better communication between the leadership and the membership. >> jason: all right, so, what do you say to your colleagues, because only if two of them go no, he can't get from here to there, so what's your message to those who are thinking about voting no? >> well what i'd say is that we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of unified republican government under president trump. this is obviously his final term in office and we need to come together to accomplish his agenda within the first 100 days. we don't have four years. we probably don't even have two years to really get across the line the things that president trump ran on and many of us ran on to save this country and restore it from the destruction that has been wrought by the biden administration

the republican congressman thomas massey has already come out and said he's a no on johnson, and sasmallf other republicans have said they're not onboard quite yet. but earlier today johnson got what he had been waiting for, an endorsement from donald trump. now we'll have to wait and see how much weight that carries among these republican hard liners because remember dozens of them were willing to vote against trump's direct demands to get rid of the debt ceiling during that recent spending fight. joining me now is joe walsh, and april ryan, white house correspondent and washington bureau chief for the grio. i missed where you were talking to my colleagues on "the weekend, and they were saying what happens if johnson doesn't win it, and you were suggesting kevin mccarthy might actually resurface as the speaker of the house. i don't know if you're still thinking that way or what you think could happen or whether you think this trump endorsement was what mike johnson needed. what's your take on it? >> ali, good to be with you. trump did meet with mccarthy this week, and here's the one con

talking to critics of johnson and i want to get your reaction because one of his biggest critics, thomas massey of kentucky, he already has said he's not voting for johnson next year. i want to get your reaction to that. you've also got andy harris, maryland, michael cloud, texas, they suggested they were no longer committed to john so so there are critics and voices out there. >> if those three don't, if you have elise stefanik confirmed, she will actually still be there because of the vote on january 3rd, she won't get confirmed until january 20th. it is going to be super close. he only has a few votes to lose. there's already three people as you said that have come out. my question is who are they going to support? is it one of them? or would they support someone like jim jordan? who can win? cheryl: those that have been on the air on fox news or fox business, said it's political suicide to put their name in the hat now but -- this is about the spending. this is about the debt to gdp ratio which is what congressman pat fallon, that's the point he makes. you've got to get the debt and spendin

right now congressman thomas massey has announced he will vote for someone else. that's one.ongresswoman victoria sparks says she is undecided. the biggest problem could be house freedom caucus chairman andy harris who is undecided and could open the door to other freedom caucus members revolting. >> i've talked to a few, you know, don't seem like they'll vote for him. you have to ask them. i won't betray any body's position. >> will you vote present. >> i will vote for somebody else. >> he says there are other people that might not vote for him. johnson survived a motion to vacate in the spring thanks to democrats. but they say they will not come to his aid this time. leader jeffries says no democrats will stand up to save johnson this time around. it is tricky. the numbers are tricky for him. john. >> john: may not be a happy new year for the speaker. see. aishah hasnie for us. president biden is dropping two student loan plans. it shows the debt relief push was trying to buy votes. plenty of americans say they feel differently when it comes to the economy. republicans say

he's already lost that one defection, congressman thomas massey of kentucky says that he plans to votencluding andy harris, the chairman of the house freedom caucus said they are undecided on mike johnson's leadership. that is not a good sign so i suspect he's having conversations behind the scenes trying to shore up the support. remember what happened just about two years ago when we were dealing with the same situation involving kevin mccarthy. he faced skepticism within the house republican congress, ended up going 15 rounds and voting over four days to eventually hold the gavel. the question is will mike johnson face that same fate and have to have these countless rounds of voting for speaker. >> you reported last week in the hill that multiple house republicans were voicing concerns to president-elect trump about speaker johnson even before the chaos of last week's government funding deal. so where does donald trump stands right now in his support of the speaker? >> yeah, trump has been such a powerful x factor in this whole conversation. beforehand in recent months trump has been

jeffries as expected, so it's razor tight because we already know of at least one republican, thomas massey of kentucky who has been saying for months that he will not vote to reelect speaker johnson. but perhaps the developments and what happened in the 48 hours with johnson needing to get a new plan forward on the floor and of course democrats still needing to provide the votes to get it across the finish line, maybe that'll make him lose confidence in johnson, and that's exactly what we heard. i do want to play for you a soundbite from congressman bacon, he's a moderate republican from nebraska. he got very closely reelected in november, there were threats against him because he had gone against the leadership before, he had gone against trump before and he's not afraid to speak out against the rabble- rousers in congress who try to drop mccarthy successfully and again tried to throw out johnson last year. take a listen to what he said today. >> i can't say that he's going to be the next speaker because you have the alex witt reports from kentucky is going to oppose him, by the way, he w

we have congress in thomas massey saying he is definitely voting against johnson so that leaves johnson the literal number that he needs to become speaker. that means he needs all republicans, every single one, to line up and vote for him on friday for this to be an easy win. it is not going to be easy because there are a number of republicans particularly in the far right who have said that they are already critical of his leadership and don't know if they will support him and what this means over the next week is that johnson will be having i'm sure conversations with a number of these holdouts to see if he can win them over for friday's vote. the thing is that johnson hasn't been one to be making many promises and the fact that he broke a couple during this funding fight was very transparent and really resonated among a number of republicans and trump. i think one thing to note, lesson learned from my reporting is that trump world has been saying, trump in every conversation, he wanted the debt ceiling, he was so surprised by the deal. that is just not accurate based on a number of r

this week, congressman thomas massey became the first house republicans essay he will not be voting for johnson as speaker of the house. in a phone interview with nbc's garrett this week, when trump was asked if he still has confidence in johnson, the best support he could muster for johnson was we will see. not very promising. but in fairness to johnson, he is not only top republican having his authority questioned elon musk has now wedged himself right in the middle of the trump transition team, and everyone is starting to wonder if the world's richest man is now, i don't know, calling the shots instead of the 78-year-old lame-duck president that is donald trump. republican texas congressman tony said in an interview today that it feels like elon musk is our prime minister. and a clear sign that this idea that musk is the boss is getting under his skin, trump told an audience of conservative activists in phoenix today that he is in charge and he will stay in charge based on a technicality. >> the new one is president trump has ceded the presidency to elon musk. no. no. [ laughter ] th

thomas massey came out and said he will not vote for house speaker mike johnson.trump is trying to hold the gop together at this point, giving johnson his complete and total endorsement. the stakes are high here. as you mentioned, house majority -- mike johnson will be necessary, a speaker will be necessary to enact parts of president trump's agenda. and also the stakes are incredibly high because a few days after the speakership vote, there will be the certification of the election on january 6th. so still a lot of remaining questions on whether that trump endorsement will be enough to put mike johnson over the finish line. >> gabe gutierrez, thanks. >> david, even with trump's endorsement, he has to win over fellow republicans. thomas massie and then victoria sparks has signalled they are both holding out. what are the sticking points for johnson within his own party? >> look, house republicans always have a hard time governing and sort of unifying amongst themselves. the issue is that the speaker has a thin majority. it is a couple of seats, three, four, at bes

thomas massey said that he would not vote for johnson.n on the stance on social media writing this, i respected support president trump, but his endorsement of mike johnson is going to work out about as well as his endorsement of speaker paul ryan. two other house republicans andy biggs of arizona and victoria sparks of, have not committed to supporting johnson despite trump's endorsement. >>> elon musk has appeared to not leave president-elect trump side since the election and it may be because they are basically neighbors, the new york times reports that must has in fact rented a cottage on the property of mar-a-lago according to two people with knowledge of the ranger. musk reportedly movement of the college around election day. which has allowed him to maintain easy access to the president-elect. he has dropped in on high profile dinners at mar-a-lago and attended meetings with world leaders with trump, also, there are more reports surfacing that musk may be wearing out his welcome with trump. according to the media, sources close to

>> we are hearing that what they could do is a plan that was actually initially originated by thomas masseyo take the pill last night and basically break it down so that light makers can just vote on each individual piece. keeping the government open and just aid for farmers and then just the two year extension of the debt limit. at this point nothing is concrete and frustrations are really growing within capitol hill. we are hearing from the set aside because they have to deal with whatever the house passes. the top person who leads the spending bill said in a statement today that she is ready to stay in congress and to work through christmas because they are not going to let elon musk run the government saying we should not let an unelected billionaire ripple way research for pediatric cancer so he can get a tax cut or tear down policies that help americans outcompete china because it could hurt his bottom line. touching on some of the many things that got stripped her down band that bill became a 100 page bill. this includes things like limiting american investment to certain chinese com

we know that thomas massey has said he plans to vote for someone other than mike johnson. president-elect's statement earlier this morning saying that he does not think that trump's endorsement is really going to have any sway or end with johnson becoming speaker again. of course it's important all it takes is just one vote now at this point for johnson to lose his bid to maintain his speakership. so this is going to be some really tough math for mike johnson to pull together in the end here. we'll have to see how it plays out, whether trump puts more pressure on some of the republicans who are not sure they want to see mike johnson in the speakership any longer, or whether trump ultimately changes his mind and decides to stay out of it or push someone else. the question is who the alternatives would be if mike johnson ends up not able to get the votes he needs on friday. >> and whether or not he could really unring that bell after he's already thrown his weight behind him. congressman, i want to you listen to the warning republican congressman mike lawlor offered his coll

speaker johnson was on fox news last night and was asked to respond to people like thomas massey and victoria sparks . here's what he had to say. >> i think those members and all of them want to be a part of the solutions. they made big promises to their constituents in these campaign cycle, we got to deliver upon them now. it's the media and the left that wants to divide us and distract us. we can't fall into that trap. we have to stay united. if we do, we can bring about this america first agenda quickly and deliver for the american people so they see results very early in the year. >> what is your take on that? is the division coming from without, or within? >> i wouldn't say it's the media in this case. division, distraction, whatever you want to call it, two republicans, three republicans -- whatever it is. not a big amount of votes against him, no matter how much loyalty the caucus has collectively to donald trump and may be elon musk, although who knows that. you know, we are in the chaos. that's what this is. and as he seen 1 million times over the last few years, politics ca

kentucky congressman thomas massey says he's not voting for johnson and several others had not committedjohnson. joining me is sam stein. and the former republican congressman from florida and number two medications director and spokesperson for congressman hakeem jeffries. sam, some gop lawmakers are still holding their support out. they are not saying what they are going to do. here's what speaker johnson said about that last night. i think that those members and all of them want to be a part of the solution. they make big promises to their constituents in this campaign cycle and we have to deliver upon them now. what is the media and the left that wants to divide us and distract us. we cannot fall into that trap. >> what do you make of his response making the case for himself? >> there is not much more he can do he got the biggest endorsement he could which is donald trump. donald trump said no it would have been done. but that is not make him in the clear. he has a razor thin majority. he can stand to lose two potential members. that incentivizes every republican member to try to ext

thomas massey came out against him and we saw a few republicans move from if the vote was today i willack him to, i don't know if i'm going to say, i'm waiting to see what's happening. so it looks like johnson has a whipping problem that he has to work on over the holidays. >> i mean, david jolly, who wouldn't want to be dealing with a whipping problem over the holidays, i mean, you've made the most astute point which is the one thing that is probably protecting mike johnson is the fact that nobody else really wants this job, right? >> that's right, or if you wanted, you don't have a pass to 218 point votes, he's had a john banner type speaker ship, i know that sounds wild but he basically did for things in the last two years, and he did it all the democrats and that is what sunk every republican speaker since then so johnson finds himself in a place where math is math and apparently conservative republicans in the house can't do math. they think they will change speakers and get a different outcome. there's one person i'm curious now about and it's jim jordan. jim jordan had a shot at

my suspicion is that yes, there might be some republicans who say they are un-swayed, i think thomas masseyhat, victoria sparks, biggs, andy harris, the freedom caucus folks, they want to try to get some concessions or demands out of johnson, ultimately will be in his count because they know they can't afford trumps agenda until they have a speaker of the house. but i do think that we are going to be looking out for the next couple days on one type of dealing is going on behind the scenes, and it will take mike johnson to get there. >> this is set for friday, and certification of the election comes monday. so, they have absolutely no time to mess around with. david, congressman mike lawlor voted republicans not to vote against johnson. let's listen to that. >> the fact is, these folks are playing with fire. if they think they are somehow going to get a more conservative speaker, they are kidding themselves. mike johnson is arguably the most conservative speaker that has ever been elected to the office. >> i'm curious for your reaction to this, david. is reelecting johnson a good move for th

now, at this point we only know of one lawmaker, thomas massey, who said that he absolutely will be votingon when it comes to the vote on friday, but we know that there are at least a dozen other lawmakers who have spoken out about their frustrations with johnson, the fact that he has had to go to democrats so many times to get various things done. they're worried he is not paying enough attention to his conference and they are looking into potentially other speakers. we saw steve scalise, and jim jordan throw their hats in the ring last time. at this point both of those individuals are behind johnson, does seem like johnson is the one most likely to get the 218 that is going to be needed but we will see exactly what happens on friday but at least for mike johnson right now he has to be feeling good with that endorsement now from trump. guys? >> emily, remind us how many republicans he can afford to lose. what's the margin? >> so it's really only about two to three and the reason we can't be more specific is that it is a majority of whoever votes for a specific person. remember, you can al

one, congress thomas massey of kentucky makes it clear, he's a hard no, no matter what trump says, forg administration, without a speaker, congress comes to a screeching halt, unable to certify trump's victory. so the big question now, will trump's endorsement quiet the rebellion within his own party, what's clear, it's a test not just for johnson but for trump and his sway over the party. >> thank you, the inauguration is in 21 days. >> will: a major breech at the treasure department. the officials say a sponsored hacker gained access to treasury workstations, and in washington we have the latest from elizabeth. >> reporter: the treasure department calls it a major breech of systems, by china-state-sponsored hackerce. a letter to congress, the department learned hackers were able to infiltrate a third party software, remotely accessig -- accessing work they are trying to determine the extent of this breech, and the biden administration sounded the alarm, of china targeting critical infrastructure, a china-back group hacked into nine telecommunications companies, including at&t and ver