Johnson steels for crucial House speaker vote as Trump rages on about ‘laughing stock’ America: Live

Republican House speaker Mike Johnson is bracing for what could be a fraught battle on Friday as he seeks to hang on to the gavel when Congress returns from its holiday recess.

Despite having the endorsement of President-elect Donald Trump, the Louisiana Representative can only afford one Republican rebellion against his re-election bid when the lower chamber’s members cast their votes – so tight is the GOP’s 219 to 211 majority – and one congressman has already indicated his objections to Johnson while several more say they are unconvinced or will require concessions.

Trump himself has meanwhile continued to rage on Truth Social that the US is “a disaster, a laughing stock all over the World!” in response to Wednesday’s suspected terror attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas, the second of which saw one of his friend Elon Musk’s Tesla Cybertruck’s blown up outside a Trump-owned luxury hotel in the Nevada city.

“This is what happens when you have OPEN BORDERS, with weak, ineffective, and virtually nonexistent leadership,” the president-elect declared.

“The DOJ, FBI, and Democrat state and local prosecutors have not done their job,” he added, blaming Joe Biden’s administratio for the chaos.

Key Points

• Will Mike Johnson make it? What to look out for ahead of Friday’s House speaker vote

• Who could challenge Johnson for Speaker of the House?

• Donald Trump claims US ‘breaking down’ after New Year’s Day terror incidents

• Trump rages at ‘TOTAL DISASTER’ Biden over national security

• Cybertruck blast suspect was a ‘Rambo type’ who loved Trump, family says

Truth Social: Trump bizarrely tells UK to ‘get rid of windmills’

09:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Good morning!

Here’s a typically oddball message to the world from Donald Trump to start your day.

Man, only Don Quixote hates windmills more than this guy.

The president-elect also announced further nominees to his incoming administration overnight, including new US ambassadors to Spain and the Netherlands and a team to support Scott Bessant at the Treasury.

Trump border czar has ‘gut feeling’ New Orleans, Las Vegas attacks connected — despite ‘no definitive link’

08:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s incoming border czar Tom Homan told Fox News on Thursday that he had a “gut feeling” that the explosion of a Cybertruck in Las Vegas was connected to the deadly terror attack in New Orleans, despite the FBI saying there’s “no definitive link.”

Pressed by Fox News anchor Sandra Smith on whether he was “privy” to any information proving such a link, Homan acknowledged he was not before saying he felt there were just “too many coincidences” between the two incidents.

Justin Barangoa reports.

Trump border czar has ‘gut feeling’ New Orleans and Las Vegas attacks are connected

How Fox News’ retracted New Orleans report sparked a MAGA meltdown about the border

07:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Hours after a U.S. Army veteran plowed a truck into a crowd of revelers celebrating New Year’s on New Orleans’s Bourbon Street, leaving 14 dead and dozens injured, Fox News reported that the terror suspect’s vehicle was spotted crossing the U.S.-Mexico border just two days prior.

The conservative cable giant’s suggestion that the horrific tragedy may have been linked to migrants entering the United States sparked an immediate freakout from prominent conservatives — and likely led to President-elect Donald Trump’s initial statement on the mass casualty event that tied immigration to the terror attack.

While the incoming president insisted he’d been proven right that “the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country,” Fox News soon walked back much of its reporting, noting that the vehicle had been spotted near the border in November rather than late-December and that it didn’t appear the suspect was the driver in that instance.

Justin Barangoa has the story.

How Fox News’ retracted New Orleans report sparked a MAGA meltdown about the border

James Carville admits he didn’t listen to his own advice

06:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Democratic strategist James Carville believed that Vice President Kamala Harris would win, but he admitted in a New York Times op-ed that he didn’t listen to his own advice from the 1992 campaign: It’s the economy, stupid.

“We have to begin 2025 with that truth as our political north star and not get distracted by anything else,” he wrote.

Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, D.C.

Carville admits why Democrats lost and he was wrong. He didn’t listen to himself

Who could challenge Johnson for Speaker of the House?

05:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Mike Johnson is set to face a vote on Friday that will determine whether he remains Speaker of the House, and although he is running unopposed with Donald Trump’s support, it’s unclear if all his conservative colleagues are willing to back him up.

Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, has faced pushback from some Republicans after he supported a recent spending bill that the president-elect and Elon Musk opposed.

That could pose a problem for him this week because Johnson can only afford to lose two Republican votes – assuming all Democrats vote against him – if he wants to keep the top Congressional job. At least one Republican has already signaled they are not voting for Johnson.

Ariana Baio reports.

Who is in the running to be Speaker of the House?

Bannon warns Musk: ‘We’re going to rip your face off’

04:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s one-time White House strategist Steve Bannon warned Elon Musk Tuesday that he and other MAGA diehards are going to “rip your face off” unless Musk smartens up and stops pushing visas for skilled foreign workers to take good-paying tech industry jobs away from Americans.

He instructed Musk to “sit back and study” to understand MAGA’s — and what supporters believed was Trump’s — America First stance to keep U.S. jobs for Americans.

Mary Papenfuss reports.

‘We’re going to rip your face off’ in visa fight, Steve Bannon warns Elon Musk

Chief Justice Roberts warns elected officials not to ignore Supreme Court decisions

03:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts warned that elected officials should not to disregard the rulings made by the court in a report.

Roberts, who will mark 20 years at the top of the court later this year, released his year-end report where he warned of increasing attacks to the legitimacy of the court.

The court has come under increased scrutiny ever since it moved to a decisive 6-3 conservative majority largely put in place by President-elect Donald Trump during his first tenure in the White House from 2017 to 2021.

Eric Garcia reports from Washington, D.C.

Chief Justice Roberts warns elected officials not to ignore Supreme Court decisions

ICYMI: Fox News melts down over Don Lemon profanely mocking MAGA supporters

02:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Don Lemon’s gleeful and profane celebration of the ongoing MAGA squabble over H-1B visas left several Fox News personalities outraged on Tuesday, with one panelist fuming whether the former CNN star thought her Donald Trump-supporting parents were “stupid.”

Justin Barangoa has the story.

Fox News melts down over Don Lemon mocking MAGA supporters: Is my mom ‘stupid?!’

Alina Habba slams Biden for saying Trump’s cases went too slow

01:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Alina Habba has reacted to claims Attorney General wasn’t “tough enough” in prosecuting her boss, President-elect Donald Trump, insisting the incoming president had it “so rough.”

Michelle Del Rey reports.

Alina Habba slams Biden for saying Trump’s cases went too slow: ‘He had it so rough’

Jill Biden got the priciest gift from a foreign leader in 2023

00:40 , AP

President Joe Biden and his family were given tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from foreign leaders in 2023, according to an annual accounting published by the State Department on Thursday, with first lady Jill Biden receiving the single most expensive present: a $20,000 diamond from India’s leader.

Read on...

Jill Biden gets the priciest gift from a foreign leader in 2023 — a $20,000 diamond

How might Republicans pay for Trump’s tax cuts?

00:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’ and his Congressional allies could add requirements to welfare programs such as Medicaid, withhold prescription drugs from federal health care coverage, repeal environmental regulations and more in order to reduce federal spending and pay for his new round of tax cuts.

Trump is determined to cut taxes for Americans but doing so means the government will need to cut federal spending elsewhere, or risk raising the national debt by trillions of dollars.

Ariana Baio reports.

Food stamps and denying Ozempic: The ways Republicans could pay for Trump’s tax cuts

Trump’s plan to name cartels ‘terrorists’ could open door to military operations in Mexico

Thursday 2 January 2025 23:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s plan to designate Mexican drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations” could provide the legal framework to allow the U.S. to conduct military operations in Mexico, according to experts.

For years, the President-elect has threatened to designate cartels that traffic illicit drugs into the U.S. foreign terrorist organizations. That distinction would allow the government to place additional economic and social sanctions on them.

Ariana Baio has the details.

Trump’s plan to name cartels ‘terrorists’ could open door to military operations

Watch: Biden awards Liz Cheney Presidential Citizens Medal

Thursday 2 January 2025 23:23 , Oliver O'Connell

Fox News claims Democrats are ‘real losers’ in the MAGA civil war over visas

Thursday 2 January 2025 23:10 , Oliver O'Connell

After carefully tip-toeing around the growing tensions that have rocked the GOP in recent days, Fox News appears to have finally found a narrative it can sell right-wing viewers on the MAGA civil war over immigrant visas.

According to the conservative cable giant, “infighting” is “how politics ought to work,” and Democrats who were “giddy” over the right tearing itself apart over highly skilled immigrant workers are the “real losers” now that MAGA is having a “civilized debate” over the issue.

Justin Barangoa has the story.

Fox News declares the ‘real losers’ in the MAGA civil war over visas — the Democrats

C-SPAN given permission to cover House Speaker election and Electoral College vote count

Thursday 2 January 2025 23:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Vance calls Musk’s op-ed praising far-right German party AfD ‘interesting’

Thursday 2 January 2025 22:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Vice President-elect JD Vance took to X to call an op-ed by Elon Musk in Die Welt explaining his support for the far-right German party Alternative for Germany (AfD) “interesting.”

Musk shared a post on X by Martin Varsavsky, who posted what he said was the article submitted by Musk to the German paper. The AfD is a far-right populist, eurosceptic party that opposes immigration and has called for mass deportations.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

JD Vance calls Elon Musk’s piece praising far-right German party AfD ‘interesting’

Possible holdout on Johnson speakership says he shares concerns about delaying Trump agenda

Thursday 2 January 2025 22:53 , Oliver O'Connell

Republican Rep Michael Cloud, a possible holdout on Speaker Mike Johnson who met with him today, says he shares concerns that a delay in electing a speaker of the House could also delay enacting Donald Trump’s agenda.

The Texas congressman wrote on X: “There are concerns that a delay in electing a Speaker could lead to a brief delay in enacting President Trump’s agenda. This a legitimate concern that I share. The other option on the table is maintaining the status quo, which will undoubtedly fail Trump’s agenda. I’m working to help find a third option. We must ensure the House is structured to enact the America-First agenda in a way that has permanence.”

House debuts new rules including one that makes it harder to boot the speaker

Thursday 2 January 2025 22:40 , Oliver O'Connell

The House Republican leadership revealed their new rules for the 119th Congress Wednesday, including a measure making it more difficult to remove the speaker of the House.

The speaker, Mike Johnson, and other Republicans shared the change in the rules during a press conference in November after the party’s leadership elections.

A motion to vacate, the process for removing the speaker, will now require nine sponsors to be considered on the House floor.

Gustaf Kilander has the details.

House debuts new rules including one that makes it harder to boot the speaker

Most GOP holdouts have met with Speaker Johnson ahead of Friday’s crucial vote

Thursday 2 January 2025 22:33 , Oliver O'Connell

Watch LIVE: President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a Presidential Citizens Medal ceremony

Thursday 2 January 2025 22:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Trump border czar has ‘gut feeling’ New Orleans, Las Vegas attacks connected — despite ‘no definitive link’

Thursday 2 January 2025 22:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s incoming border czar Tom Homan told Fox News on Thursday that he had a “gut feeling” that the explosion of a Cybertruck in Las Vegas was connected to the deadly terror attack in New Orleans, despite the FBI saying there’s “no definitive link.”

Pressed by Fox News anchor Sandra Smith on whether he was “privy” to any information proving such a link, Homan acknowledged he was not before saying he felt there were just “too many coincidences” between the two incidents.

Justin Barangoa reports.

Trump border czar has ‘gut feeling’ New Orleans and Las Vegas attacks are connected

Trump says he will drum up support for Mike Johnson ahead of speaker vote

Thursday 2 January 2025 22:10 , Oliver O'Connell

President-elect Donald Trump told reporters he would make phone calls on behalf of House Speaker Mike Johnson to help Johnson keep the gavel.

Trump spoke to reporters at Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s Eve and reiterated his support for Johnson. A reporter asked him if he would make phone calls to Republicans who are skeptical of keeping Johnson as speaker.

Eric Garcia reports.

Trump says he will make phone calls for Mike Johnson ahead of the vote for speaker

Biden celebrates 235 judicial confirmations

Thursday 2 January 2025 21:55 , Oliver O'Connell

With just over two weeks until he cedes the reins of the executive branch to Donald Trump, President Joe Biden says the 235 judges confirmed to the federal bench during his four years in office will serve as a bulwark against abuses from the executive and legislative branches and will represent what he described as “the best in America.”

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, D.C.

Biden celebrates 235 judicial confirmations: ‘The best of America’

Dr. Oz once said uninsured have no ‘right to health’

Thursday 2 January 2025 21:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Mehmet Oz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, once said the uninsured “don’t have a right to health.”

The physician, better known as the TV celebrity Dr. Oz, made the comment during a 2013 address to the National Governor’s Association. He told attendees that uninsured people should be given “a way of crawling back out of the abyss of darkness, of fear, over not having the health they need” in a “festival-like setting” with physicians.

He added that the uninsured don’t have a right to health, only the right to access a chance at health.

Katie Hawkinson reports.

Trump’s Medicare pick Dr. Oz once said uninsured have no ‘right to health’

What we know about the Turo-rented cars involved in deadly New Year incidents

Thursday 2 January 2025 21:25 , AP

Two deadly incidents on New Year’s Day — an attack being investigated as an act of terrorism in New Orleans and an explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas — both involved vehicles that were rented on Turo, a peer-to-peer car sharing company.

Read on...

Turo-rented cars were involved in 2 deadly incidents this New Year's. Here's what we know

Johnson ‘open’ to process reforms sought by GOP holdouts in speaker vote

Thursday 2 January 2025 21:12 , Oliver O'Connell

Trump takeover threats touted as aiding Putin’s expansionist goals by Kremlin supporters

Thursday 2 January 2025 21:10 , Oliver O'Connell

President-elect Donald Trump has boasted on social media about taking over Greenland, making Canada the 51st state, and wresting control of the Panama Canal.

His expansionist rhetoric has worried allies but elated enemies, with Russians viewing the statements as evidence that Trump isn’t opposed to foreign wars of conquest, as is the Kremlin, despite what he has otherwise stated.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Kremlin supporters tout Trump takeover threats as aiding Putin’s expansionist goals

Johnson making the rounds of right-wing media ahed of speaker vote

Thursday 2 January 2025 21:08 , Oliver O'Connell

Feds unveil timeline of New Orleans terror suspect’s movements

Thursday 2 January 2025 20:55 , Oliver O'Connell

The FBI has shared the movements of suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar in the final days and hours leading up to his deadly New Orleans attack early New Year’s Day.

New details have emerged about how Jabbar, 42, traveled from his home in Houston, Texas, to New Orleans on New Year’s Eve in a rented pickup truck.

He later rammed it into a crowd on bustling Bourbon Street, filled with revelers enjoying the celebrations at approximately 3:15 a.m. on January 1.

Rhian Lubin looks at what we know.

Timeline of the New Orleans terror suspect’s movements leading up to deadly attack

Timeline: Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s tumultuous relationship

Thursday 2 January 2025 20:40 , Mike Bedigan

The rapid and intense bromance between two of the world’s most powerful men – Donald Trump and Elon Musk – may not have been on many people’s bingo cards for 2024, given their previous history.

But, it blossomed to end the year.

In recent months, the tech billionaire has become the self-titled “first buddy” to the president-elect, but their relationship has not always been rosy. Before the campaign rallies, compliments and close proximity lodgings, the pair have had their fair share of public disagreements and even exchanged insults.

With rumors swirling of a potential end to the honeymoon period between Trump and Musk – sources report that Trump is already becoming “annoyed” with his wealthy friend – here is a look back at their often tumultuous relationship:

A timeline of Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s tumultuous relationship

Trump calls Rep Chip Roy ahead of speaker vote

Thursday 2 January 2025 20:31 , Oliver O'Connell

Even with Trump endorsement, Johnson’s future still uncertain

Thursday 2 January 2025 20:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Mike Johnson will face the music tomorrow as the House of Representatives is set to meet and elect a new speaker for the 119th Congress.

The Trump loyalist’s term as speaker began after he emerged as a consensus candidate last fall, thanks to his ability to win over both moderates and institutionalist Republicans while also maintaining friendly(ish) ties with his party’s frenzied right wing. His election occurred after the chamber was shut down for nearly a month following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy, his predecessor, from the speaker’s chair by a rebellion within the GOP caucus.

The congressman from Louisiana has maintained shaky control of his caucus since late October of last year, buoyed in part by a weariness resulting from that chaotic speakerless period. Whether that will continue into the new Congress, however, still remains uncertain.

John Bowden reports from Washington, D.C.

Trump endorsed Johnson for House speaker. His future is still anything but certain

Rep Victoria Spartz undecided on Johnson, wants Gingrich-style contract with America

Thursday 2 January 2025 20:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Watch: Incoming Trump border czar maintains ‘gut feeling’ over terrorism and Las Vegas explosion

Thursday 2 January 2025 20:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Biden received updates on terrorist attack in New Orleans and car explosion in Las Vegas

Thursday 2 January 2025 20:09 , Oliver O'Connell

Johnson meeting with Freedom Caucus ahead of speaker vote

Thursday 2 January 2025 20:03 , Oliver O'Connell

Mike Johnson is holding a meeting with members of the Freedom Caucus who are undecided or looking for commitments regarding tomorrow’s speakership vote.

ANALYSIS: Will Mike Johnson make it? What to look out for ahead of Friday’s House speaker vote

Thursday 2 January 2025 19:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

The House and Senate will convene on Friday for the start of the new Congress, giving Donald Trump a Republican trifecta when he returns to Washington 17 days later. The House’s first order of business? Embarking on the semi-annual tradition of cat-herding that is the vote for speaker.

Read on...

Will Mike Johnson make it? What to look out for ahead of Friday’s House speaker vote

Army vet shot himself in the head before his rented Cybertruck exploded outside Trump hotel, cops say

Thursday 2 January 2025 19:47 , Oliver O'Connell

James Liddell and Mike Bedigan report:

On Thursday, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said investigators were confident that Livelsberger was the person in the vehicle, though his body was “burned beyond recognition.” He added that there was evidence that he had suffered a gunshot wound to the head prior to the blast.

Continue reading...

Matthew Livelsberger: What we know about the Cybertruck explosion suspect

Sheriff: Cybertruck specs prevented a bigger explosion and more damage to Trump hotel

Thursday 2 January 2025 19:35 , Oliver O'Connell

The number of victims of the Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas was limited by the vehicle’s reinforced exterior, police have said.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said the blast had been directed “up through the truck” resulting in minimal damage to the surroundings.

Seven people were injured during the New Year’s Day incident, and the driver of the vehicle was killed. The man was later identified by authorities as U.S. Army veteran Matthew Livelsberger.

Mike Bedigan reports.

Cybertruck’s specs prevented a bigger explosion, sheriff says

Full story: Trump critic Liz Cheney to be awarded Presidential Citizens Medal by Biden

Thursday 2 January 2025 19:28 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden is handing the second-highest civilian honor to fierce Donald Trump critics Liz Cheney and Rep. Bennie Thompson for their work leading the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot.

Biden will award the Presidential Citizens Medal to 20 people in a ceremony at the White House Thursday evening. Some of the recipients fought for same-sex marriage, one led the charge in treating wounded soldiers, and two others are close friends of the president: former Sens. Ted Kaufman and Chris Dodd.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Trump critic Liz Cheney to be awarded Presidential Citizens Medal by Biden

How Fox News’ retracted New Orleans report sparked a MAGA meltdown about the border

Thursday 2 January 2025 19:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Hours after a U.S. Army veteran plowed a truck into a crowd of revelers celebrating New Year’s on New Orleans’s Bourbon Street, leaving 14 dead and dozens injured, Fox News reported that the terror suspect’s vehicle was spotted crossing the U.S.-Mexico border just two days prior.

The conservative cable giant’s suggestion that the horrific tragedy may have been linked to migrants entering the United States sparked an immediate freakout from prominent conservatives — and likely led to President-elect Donald Trump’s initial statement on the mass casualty event that tied immigration to the terror attack.

Justin Barangoa has the story.

How Fox News’ retracted New Orleans report sparked a MAGA meltdown about the border

EXCLUSIVE: Cybertruck blast suspect was a ‘Rambo type’ who loved Trump, family says

Thursday 2 January 2025 18:22 , Oliver O'Connell

The Green Beret who was driving a Tesla Cybertruck that blew up outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on New Year’s Day “was a 100 percent patriot,” his bewildered uncle said Thursday.

Matthew Livelsberger, 37, was “like a Rambo-type, for lack of a better word,” Dean Livelsberger told The Independent.

Dean, whose older brother is Livelsberger’s father, Roger, himself an Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam, said his nephew “loved the Army.”

“He used to have all patriotic stuff on Facebook, he was 100 percent loving the country,” he continued. “He loved Trump, and he was always a very, very patriotic soldier, a patriotic American. It’s one of the reasons he was in Special Forces for so many years. It wasn’t just one tour of duty.”

Justin Rohrlich reports.

Cybertruck blast suspect was a ‘Rambo type’ who loved Trump, family says

Who could challenge Johnson for Speaker of the House?

Thursday 2 January 2025 17:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Mike Johnson is set to face a vote on Friday that will determine whether he remains Speaker of the House, and although he is running unopposed with Donald Trump’s support, it’s unclear if all his conservative colleagues are willing to back him up.

Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, has faced pushback from some Republicans after he supported a recent spending bill that the president-elect and Elon Musk opposed.

That could pose a problem for him this week because Johnson can only afford to lose two Republican votes – assuming all Democrats vote against him – if he wants to keep the top Congressional job. At least one Republican has already signaled they are not voting for Johnson.

As of now, Johnson is the only official speaker candidate, in part thanks to Turmp’s endorsement. However, several other names floated around before Johnson’s nomination was made official, providing some potential backups if Republicans have a repeat of last year’s fiasco.

Ariana Baio reports.

Who is in the running to be Speaker of the House?