Johnson planning to remain GOP leader in ‘unlikely scenario’ Republicans lose House

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he plans to remain as the leader of the Republican conference in the “unlikely scenario” that the GOP loses control of the House.

“I want to be of my highest and best use to God in my country, and I feel like at this stage of life, I’m doing what I’m called to do, and so I intend to lead as Speaker,” Johnson told CBS News’s Robert Costa in an exclusive interview. “Heaven forbid, I don’t think it’s going to happen, so I don’t spend any time thinking about it.”

He added, “But in the unlikely scenario where we lost the majority, I would expect my colleagues would ask me to continue leading this conference, even if we have divided government.”

Johnson’s remarks come just a few days after he floated the possibility of returning to Louisiana if Republicans lose the midterms in an interview with Fox News.

“It’s just hilarious,” the Speaker told CBS, when asked about the speculation that his remark quickly sparked.

“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,” the Louisiana Republican continued. “And I was trying to make the point that if God has a different design, then we’ll follow that. But what I believe is, I’m going to be the Speaker of the House for at least two more years.”

Asked about the fact that some Speakers left Congress after their party lost control, he told CBS, “I’m going to continue to serve my highest best use to God in country, and I believe right now, as we’re sitting here, that’s the Speaker of the House.”

“And if we lost the majority, I don’t think that that position that I have would change. I think I would stay right there,” Johnson added.

Some GOP lawmakers and aides previously told The Hill that there could be a potential push to support someone other than Johnson as leader if the party suffers major losses in the midterms.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said last week that Johnson will “ultimately have to make a decision about what comes next.”

“I can say that the American people are about to retire Mike Johnson and the Republican majority in the House and possibly even in the Senate,” Jeffries said.

Decision Desk HQ, a partner of The Hill, currently gives Democrats a 76 percent chance of winning control of the lower chamber of Congress.