Exclusive: President-elect Donald Trump told Fox News Digital that if House Speaker Mike Johnson “acts decisively and tough” and removes “all the traps set by Democrats” in the spending package, he will “easily remain in office for another term.” Speaker of Congress”.

Fox News Digital had an exclusive interview with the president-elect on Thursday morning, just hours after a bipartisan deal to avert a partial government shutdown was defeated.

“Anyone who supports a debt ceiling bill that doesn’t address the Democrats’ quicksand debt ceiling bill should be primary-listed and disposed of as soon as possible,” Trump told Fox News Digital.

Vice President-elect J.D. Vance met with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, on Wednesday night. The two discussed possible ongoing solutions for about an hour. Vance said the two had a “productive conversation” and said he believed they were “able to resolve some of the issues here” and would remain “committed to resolving this issue.”

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson shakes hands with U.S. President-elect Trump on stage at the House Republican Conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill on November 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)

The confusion over passing legislation to avert a government shutdown has put the upcoming speakership vote into focus as Johnson has struggled to maintain complete unity within his party.

But the president-elect told Fox News Digital that Johnson would “easily” retain the speakership.

“If the speaker takes decisive, strong action and gets out of all the traps that the Democrats have set that will destroy our country economically and in other ways, it will be very easy for him to stay in office,” Trump told Fox News Digital.

The speaker’s vote is scheduled for January 3, 2025.

dead now 1,547 pages of bills The plan, a short-term extension of government funding levels for fiscal 2024, is intended to give lawmakers more time to agree on funding for the remainder of fiscal 2025 before a Friday deadline.

In addition to funding the government through March 14, the bill includes more than $100 billion in disaster relief aid to help Americans affected by hurricanes Milton and Helen. It also includes $10 billion in economic relief for farmers, as well as health care reform measures and a provision to revitalize RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., and its surrounding campus.

The bill also proposes to increase the salaries of members of Congress.

Members of the House Freedom Caucus said they were blindsided by what they believed were irrelevant policy riders added to the bill during last-minute negotiations.

Several Republican lawmakers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Johnson would see a challenge to his speakership over the matter in early January.

This is a development story. Please check back for updates.