House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) told CBS News that he intends to stay leader of the House GOP conference even if the party loses its majority, days after seeming to suggest he could leave Congress should Republicans lose.
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“If, heaven forbid, we lost the majority, I would expect my colleagues would call upon me to continue to lead the conference in divided government,” Johnson told CBS in an interview that was shot in his home state and released Monday. “My intention is to stay and serve, and that’s what I’ve been doing, as best I can.”
Last week, Johnson told Fox News that he didn’t know “what my next chapter of life is,” and that “if God moves on our hearts and says we should, you know, go back to my hometown of Shreveport and start a lawn business, I’ll do that” if Republicans lose the House in the November midterm elections.
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The statement led to speculation about whether he’d stay on as the top House Republican if the party ends up in the minority. Polling shows that Democrats are likely to take back the chamber in November.
Johnson told CBS that his earlier comment was “tongue in cheek.”
“What I was trying to say to them is that throughout my whole life, my number one objective is to be of my highest and best use to God and to my country, and that’s always what I’ve thought,” Johnson said. “But what I believe is, I’m going to be the speaker of the House for at least two more years.”
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