By Nathan Layne

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump said he would attend a state funeral next week for Jimmy Carter, the former US president who died on Sunday at the age of 100, and predicted that House Speaker Only Mike Johnson can win. the vote for the top job in the House.

As Trump entered the New Year’s Eve Party at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida on Tuesday, a reporter asked him if he planned to attend Carter’s (NYSE: ) funeral at the National Cathedral on January 9 in Washington, DC.

“I do. I’ll be there. We’re invited,” Trump said, declining to say whether he had spoken to any of Carter’s family members since his death.

At the black tie gala attended by billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, Senator Ted Cruz and other supporters, Trump was also asked what his message was for Republicans who did not follow his lead and supported his re-election bid. said House Speaker Johnson.

The House is scheduled to elect a speaker this Friday after the swearing in of the new Congress. Trump’s endorsement of Johnson on Monday is seen as key to Johnson’s hopes of retaining the position he assumed in October 2023.

But the move by thirty-four Republicans to vote against Johnson’s stopgap funding bill in December raises questions about whether Johnson will struggle to garner enough support for re-election.

“I think they will support Speaker Johnson,” Trump told reporters. “He’s going to win now. Almost everyone likes him. The others are good too, but they have 30 or 40 people who don’t like them.”