Trump, Speaker Johnson to hold joint press conference Friday on election integrity

Former President Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) are set to hold a joint press conference Friday focussed on election integrity, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to The Hill, an appearance that comes as one of Trump’s close allies is threatening to oust the Speaker from the top job.

The press conference is scheduled to take place at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., the source said. A second source familiar told The Hill that an event Friday is the plan, but the details are still being finalized.

Johnson led a brief as part of Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, and the two have had a warm relationship throughout the Louisiana Republican’s tenure on Capitol Hill. Trump endorsed Johnson for Speaker, the Louisiana Republican endorsed the former president in his 2024 bid for the White House.

But the planned event comes as Johnson finds himself in hot water on Capitol Hill, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — a close Trump ally — threatening to force a vote on removing the Speaker from his leadership position.

Greene filed a motion to vacate — the same mechanism used to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — late last month, but she has not yet triggered a vote on the resolution.

Greene and Johnson spoke in the Capitol on Wednesday, and emerging from the meeting, the Georgia Republican said she had not struck a deal with the Speaker to stand down on her ouster threat.

She noted that her decisions surrounding the motion to vacate will largely hinge on how Johnson handles sending additional aid to Ukraine and reauthorizing the U.S.’s warrantless surveillance powers.

“Right now he does not have my support and I’m watching what happens with FISA and Ukraine,” Greene told reporters.

The Georgia Republicans would not say if she has discussed her motion-to-vacate gambit with Trump, telling reporters “I don’t talk about our conversation.”

Johnson, similarly, would not divulge details when asked if he has asked Trump for his support in remaining Speaker.

“I’m not going to comment on private conversations with President Trump. I talk to him frequently, but I’m not going to comment on that here. I don’t talk about private conversations,” he said.

The joint press conference would also come after Trump undercut Johnson’s effort to pass a bill that would reauthorize the U.S.’s warrantless surveillance powers.

Johnson unveiled a bill last week that would extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), but to the chagrin of some Republicans and Democrats, the legislation does not include a warrant requirement.

In a Truth Social post early Wednesday morning, Trump urged lawmakers to “KILL FISA.”

Brett Samuels contributed. Updated at 2:14 p.m.

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