President-elect Donald Trump has arrived at the Hyatt Regency Washington, where the House GOP leadership elections are taking place Wednesday morning.
Trump, who is in Washington to meet with President Joe Biden later Wednesday, has brought tech mogul Elon Musk along with him, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Addressing the GOP conference Wednesday morning, Trump touted Republican victories up and down the ballot, saying, “It’s nice to win” at the top of his remarks.
“So you know, we had like historic kind of numbers, especially for the president but we won’t get into that,” Trump said. “But the House did very well, and I think we’re responsible for 31 — helping you with 31 — meaning we could’ve lost by quite a bit, and we ended up, I guess you’ll be five up? Are you looking at five or four? Five or four, right? Doesn’t matter. We get used to one for a little while, when you get used to one you can get used to anything.”
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During his remarks, Trump quipped that he would not be running for president again, unless House Republicans “say he’s so good we got to figure something else out.”
In response, a GOP lawmaker told the Washington Examiner that the president-elect “didn’t mean it.”
It is the first time since his victory against Vice President Kamala Harris that Trump is meeting with the full House Republican conference. While control of this House has not been determined, as a number of races for the lower chamber remain uncalled, Republicans are projected to hold on to their slim majority.
With the expected majority, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), a Trump ally, is hoping to hold onto his gavel for another session. However, he might face a last-minute challenge to his leadership from his right flank.
However, Trump offered Johnson his endorsement Wednesday, telling the Republican conference that he fully supports the Louisiana Republican’s speakership. So far, no one has come out to challenge Johnson’s bid, two Republican lawmakers told the Washington Examiner.
Beyond the speakership, House Republicans will also be deciding on a few other races, though the only competitive one is expected to be the race for House Republican Conference chairperson, which is open as the current chairwoman, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), is set to become ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration.
Both Reps. Kat Cammack (R-FL) and Lisa McClain (R-MI) are running for the No. 4 leadership spot.
The president-elect has made a series of announcements about his Cabinet appointments, including Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to the new Department of Government Efficiency on Tuesday night.
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Trump also picked Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) as his national security adviser, raising concerns about whether the absence of Waltz and Stefanik would jeopardize Republicans’ slim majority.
Trump, seemingly aware of the concerns, joked during his remarks in the closed-door meeting that he wants about 15 of them for his Cabinet, saying that he might take some lawmakers now, and some later, two sources told the Washington Examiner.