House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) suggested he could walk away from Congress if Democrats win control of the House, according to Politico, the furthest he has gone in acknowledging what he would do in a GOP minority.
“Heaven forbid, if we lose this majority or whatever, I don’t know what my next chapter of life is,” Johnson said in an interview with Fox News posted this week. “If God moves on our hearts and says we should, you know, go back to my hometown of Shreveport and start a lawn business, I’ll do that with equal fervor.”
In the past, Johnson "has steered clear" of the hypothetical. He also "did not rule out a run for minority leader," Politico reported. Instead, he told Fox News that House Republicans will hold the majority and he will stay speaker.
“I’m going to be the speaker in the next Congress,” Johnson said when asked if he would run. “I’m not going to talk about the scenario where we don’t win the House, because I am laser-focused on winning the House.”
With the midterms less than a month away, Republicans are doing everything they can to salvage their chances of keeping the majority in what Politico described as an "unfavorable political environment."
Some Republicans privately worry about holding the House, and many believe jockeying for a GOP minority leader race is already underway, Politico reported.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) are among the names floated to take over. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) has also been named as an option, though he could instead run to stay as whip.
All three have been campaigning across the country ahead of the election. If Republicans lose the House, the race for minority leader "would begin almost immediately" when members return to Washington, according to Politico.
