Last week, Speaker Mike Johnson and his top lieutenants travelled to Mar-a-Lago with a purpose: to convince Donald Trump to favour a sitting House Republican rather than a rebellious primary opponent supported by Rep. Matt Gaetz.
Several Republican sources have reported that Johnson urged Trump to support Republican Rep. Mike Bost in the southern Illinois district over his MAGA-aligned primary opponent, Darren Bailey. This demonstrates how the new speaker is using his relationship with the former president to his advantage, especially as internal GOP primary battles are threatening to change the composition of Congress.
Several other Republicans, such as North Carolina’s Rep. Richard Hudson—who is in charge of the House GOP’s campaign arm and was present at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago meeting—and Ohio’s freshman representative and former Trump assistant, Rep. Max Miller, individually pushed Trump to back Bost. Johnson and Hudson paid a quick visit to the former president the day after he declared his support for Bost. They were in Florida for the annual House GOP leadership retreat.
During the Republican presentation of Bost’s case for the support of the former president, some hoped that Gaetz would hear a different message. This would be a sign of the continued animosity between the two men, over four months after the Florida Republican spearheaded the historic effort to remove Kevin McCarthy from his position as speaker. Bost is a devoted Trump supporter, committee chairman, and five-term incumbent.
“Matt always finds himself on the wrong side of history,” Miller told AWN, referring to the fact that President Trump endorsed Mike Bost. Chaos is what he desires. His problems with his parents need to be resolved.
Gaetz attacked Miller in an interview, claiming that Miller is trying to unseat his Republican colleague from Congress and that he just stumped for Bailey in Herrin, Illinois.
“Listen, I’m going to change Congress, and I’m not going to be able to accomplish it with the current crop of lawmakers,” Gaetz admitted to AWN. That is the conclusion I have reached. Consequently, I am in search of unfamiliar acquaintances. I long for those who are more fitting for me. In several of these Republican primary contests, I require more suitable alternatives. Plus, I’ll be hitting the road to seek out more electoral victories.
Republican insiders claim that a December fundraiser in Bost’s district was hosted by Johnson, but this was not driven by fears of losing the red seat to a far-right candidate in the party primary. Rather, it was a party-wide effort to defend Bost. Members of the center-right Main Street Caucus like Bost are seen as allies of the party’s leadership and policy backers by lawmakers versed in GOP internal dynamics. This is in stark contrast to the Gaetz faction, which is often at odds with party leaders over strategy.
In his efforts to increase the Republican majority in November, Johnson has visited over twenty states since assuming the speakership in October, as reported by Johnson’s campaign team. He has also visited these states to assist other GOP incumbents.
On the other hand, Trump’s steadfast support for Bost shows that he still has the support of the House GOP and the party’s base, which might help Republican leaders secure Bost’s endorsement.
Bost made it plain in an interview that he thinks Gaetz is going for him for a different reason: Envy amongst individuals.
Bost, who was among those who yelled at Gaetz and forced him to sit down, said that during the speakership debate last autumn, Gaetz “started screaming from the middle of the room” at McCarthy. According to many witnesses, Bost proceeded to rush at him in the room.
“Just like Matt, he craves attention and that’s why he acts this way towards me,” Bost explained in an interview.
“People in my district do not like him,” Bost continued. In fact, his presence there might help me win over voters.
Bost is the third sitting Republican to be targeted by Gaetz’s campaign. Gaetz claims that his attacks on Bost “aren’t personal,” instead citing Bost’s support for aiding Ukraine and accusing him of being “bought and paid for by the lobbyists and the special interests.”
“I don’t get into weird fist fights over those things,” Gaetz stated. “In Illinois, I will fight with my words, as I always do.”
However, Bost has been busy behind the scenes establishing his allegiance. An individual who was on board with Bost during the plane’s voyage on Air Force One claims that Trump once approached Bost and expressed gratitude for the prayer cards that Bost and his wife had sent to the then-president.
Trump casts a shadow on other crucial primaries
The GOP’s efforts to woo Trump highlight a harsh truth: the former president has no influence over congressional primaries. Indeed, the campaign chairman of the Republican Senate, Montana’s Sen. Steve Daines, spent months preparing Trump to endorse the preferred candidate of the Republican leadership in the pivotal US Senate race in Montana, essentially removing hard-right Rep. Matt Rosendale, whom party leaders were afraid might cost them the seat.
Even though Trump is politically vulnerable with many voters in the general election and faces 91 criminal charges across four indictments, loyalty to Trump remains a prominent issue in GOP primaries for both the House and the Senate as candidates woo conservative supporters.
Republicans see the 9th Congressional District in Ohio, a traditionally Democratic seat, as an obvious pickup chance, and the race for Trump’s popularity has played a significant role in the primary. Miller was among several Republicans who withdrew their support after Craig Riedel, the nominee of the GOP leadership, was captured on audio criticising Trump. House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik was among them.
