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As 2024 comes to a close, Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R., La.) allies looked back on a series of his high and low-profile wins that capped an unusual 118th Congress — accomplishments that will be at the forefront of Johnson’s case that he should be reelected as Speaker of the House when Congress reconvenes in January.

The biggest ace in Johnson’s hole is that President Donald Trump recently endorsedhim for Speaker at the House GOP Conference meeting.

Johnson and House Republicans were counted out for most of 2024, with many political handicappers writing off their ability to retain their majority, let alone to flip critical Democrat-held seats, and while Johnson’s majority will be slimmer in 2025, especially with several members departing to join Trump’s administration, he and the House GOP will be essential partners for Trump in carrying out his agenda.

“After months of people doubting his political strength, it's now obvious that Speaker Mike Johnson is a political powerhouse who played a critical role in reclaiming a Democrat-controlled Senate and Presidency, and whose support was crucial to our big victory of flipping Colorado's 8th district for Republicans,” Rep.-elect Gabe Evans (R., Colo.) told the Washington Reporter. “A massive thank you to Speaker Johnson for his endorsement on the campaign trail, and I look forward to working alongside him in Washington.” Evans unseated Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D., Colo.) in one of the closest races in the country.

Through his work with the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) super PAC, and his partnership with CLF’s president Dan Conston, Johnson raised and spent historic sums of money to keep the GOP majority secure and to flip blue seats.

Rep.-elect Tom Barrett told the Reporter that “Speaker Johnson's investment in my race showed donors and the pundits how competitive MI07 will be and what it was going to take for us to win.”

Barrett added that Johnson “came to my district in the closing days of the 2024 campaign, helped us raise money both in Michigan and nationally, and was always there when we needed him with no questions asked. I'm honored to have had so much support from Speaker Johnson and CLF. They knew that if House Republicans were going to hold their majority it was dependent on us flipping this seat. CLF went toe-to-toe with the Democrat PACs; they put the paint on target and never let up.”

In addition to CLF’s work flipping blue seats with candidates like Barrett, it spent heavily to keep Johnson’s colleagues in office. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R., Iowa) is one of many colleagues he helped to defeat well-funded Democratic opponents.

Miller-Meeks told the Reporter that Johnson “had a steep learning curve but traveled extensively to support and fundraise from coast to coast and everyone from Scott Perry to Michelle Steel to Brandon Williams. Some didn’t get across the finish line but his support made it closer than it otherwise would have been.”

Rep. Mike Lawler (R., N.Y.), another Republican Johnson assisted, told the Reporterthat “Speaker Johnson has worked around the clock to unite our conference, advance common sense conservative legislation, and defend our majority.”

Lawler, who decisively defeated his Democratic opponent, added that “that’s why he has the enthusiastic backing of President Trump and our Republican conference. He has campaigned for me in my district numerous times, as he has done for Republicans in tough seats across the country this year. We simply would not have a majority in the 119th Congress without his tireless efforts. My colleagues should reflect on that as we prepare to return to Washington and resume our important work. On January 3rd, we should reelect Speaker Johnson without drama and move on to the many pressing tasks at hand.”

In addition to Johnson’s successes in raising hundreds of millions of dollars for House Republicans, lawmakers praised a series of his wins in Congress. “Speaker Johnson is an important leader as we examine the explosion of anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism on college campuses,” Rep. Tim Walberg (R., Mich.), the incoming chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, told the Reporter. “Hateful ideologies have been normalized at many institutions. Speaker Johnson has been an invaluable partner, recognizing this issue, giving it the spotlight it deserves, and providing solutions. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Speaker Johnson to deliver the change we need to not only address this issue but make lasting changes to protect parental rights, lower the cost of college, and much more.”

Another senior House Republican, Rep. Robert Aderholt (R., Ala.) told Tony Perkins in an interview about Johnson that “one thing that I really appreciate about Speaker Mike Johnson is that he didn't cram all the appropriations bills in at the last moment...I am thankful that Mike Johnson kept his word.” Aderholt, a senior appropriator, appreciated how Johnson handled the latest round of appropriations.

Johnson’s allies on and off the Hill point to a series of 2024 wins that they hope he can build off of should he win another two years as Speaker:

• Johnson was endorsed by President Trump for another term as Speaker of the House;

• Johnson awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously to the families of the 13 servicemembers who were killed at Abbey Gate during the Biden administration’s failed withdrawal from Afghanistan — his decision was first covered by the Reporter;

• Johnson succeeded in getting for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a Joint Session of Congress — against the wishes of anti-Israel Democrats;

• Johnson put the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act on the floor and the bill passed the House in November;

• Johnson led the House’s efforts to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, the controversial Secretary of Homeland Security;

• Johnson also led the efforts to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress;

• Johnson formalized the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, helping expose his family’s influence peddling schemes;

• Johnson exposed Democrats’ support for noncitizens voting in American elections;

• Johnson and House Republicans passed legislation like the bipartisan SAVE Act, which bans noncitizens from voting;

• Johnson put the SAVE Act plus the six-month continuing resolution on the floor to argue that Democrats would rather shut down the government than block illegal immigrants from voting in elections;

• Johnson released 44,000 hours of the previously hidden January 6th footage;

• Johnson successfully pressured Columbia University’s president to resign due to her tolerance of anti-Jewish hate on campus;

• Johnson exposed Democrats for supporting open borders, illegals voting, and opposing common sense measures like deporting illegal immigrants who have been arrested for domestic violence;

• Johnson called for Ukraine to fire its ambassador who helped organize a campaign event for Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D., Pa.), in the final days of the 2024 election;

• Johnson joined the legal effort to overturn the Colorado Supreme Court’s unprecedented decision to remove Trump from the ballot;

• Johnson exposed CBS News’s intentional editing of interviews on behalf of Democrats.

For weeks, House Republicans have praised Johnson’s work to the Reporter, attackingcriticisms of him as being “bullshit.”

Rep. Claudia Tenney (R., N.Y.) told the Reporter that Johnson is “not weak. Who are we going to get who is as deeply knowledgeable about the Constitution, has the humility, also has the hard work? He's willing to sit down with every single freaking member in every faction. No one else is going to do that.”

“Folks who don’t support Mike Johnson on January 3 only weaken the Republican Conference and strengthen Hakeem Jeffries,” Rep. Don Bacon (R., Neb.) told the Reporter. “We voted unanimously in November for Johnson to remain as Speaker. We also received a commitment from the Freedom Caucus to support Johnson last November. Let’s be a team and live by our commitments. Teams win, divided teams get beat.”

“There’s always room for growth and Speaker Johnson understands and does this as best as anyone,” Rep. Marc Molinaro (R., N.Y.), who is leaving Congress in January, told the Reporter. “His leadership and commitment to constitutional principles are essential as Congress aligns with President Trump’s vision to strengthen America and protect Americans. In these critical times, his focus on unity, freedom, and a secure future while managing a conference of varied and strong willed beliefs is what’s needed.”

Even incoming lawmakers who haven’t yet worked extensively with Johnson are eager to see him get to work. “The House faced the realities of divided government until January,” Mike Haridopolos, a former president of the Florida state Senate, told the Reporter.

“Fortunately Speaker Johnson, with skill and grace, was able to forge a deal to keep the government open and give the new Republican trifecta a clean budget slate to work with starting in January,” Haridopolos added.