Speaker Johnson Unveils GOP Joint Fundraising Committee

WASHINGTON — Congress is out of town for Thanksgiving, but that doesn’t mean things aren’t going on below the surface. 

On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced the formation of a new joint fundraising committee, “Grow the Majority,” that will serve as his chief vehicle for raising money for Republican House campaigns and the Republican campaign organizations backing them.

The “Grow the Majority” committee is composed of over 70 Republican groups, which allows a maximum contribution of $850,600.

According to a release sent out by email under the “Team Johnson” banner, 25 House Republican incumbents, 10 nominee funds for House districts, 16 Republican challengers in districts held by Democrats, 20 state Republican parties in key House battleground states, the Congressional Leadership Fund, the National Republican Congressional Committee, the Republican National Committee and Johnson’s reelection campaign and leadership PAC are included in the groups.

“Speaker Johnson has hit the ground running to ensure Republicans in critical districts have the resources they need to achieve victory,” said Team Johnson Executive Director Billy Constangy in a written statement.

“The speaker is all-in to grow our majority and the creation of this new joint fundraising committee shows he is committed to doing his part to help the team,” Constangy added.

Just last week, Dan Conston, president of the Congressional Leadership Fund, the main GOP super PAC, predicted in a memo to donors that “House Republicans stand in a strong position to hold and grow their majority,” in 2024.

“In the time since Mike Johnson became speaker, I have seen firsthand his eagerness and determination to invest in the fight to expand the House majority,” Conston wrote. 

The contents of the memo were first reported by NBC News.

Conston also assured donors that public perception regarding the three weeks of chaos that ensued between the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and the election of Johnson hasn’t hurt the party’s chances in 2024.

He said new polling in four battleground districts found that voters “agreed by wide margins that [the incumbent] is working to end the chaos in Washington.” 

Conston also added that the group “is in the strongest financial position in its history.”

The Congressional Leadership Fund has been the main super PAC aligned with House Republican leadership since 2011.

Though there was some question about its future after Johnson’s election, he has since endorsed the group and announced that Conston would stay on at its helm.

In other Johnson-related news, it has been reported that he met with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago Monday night, during an event hosted by Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla.

There’s no word on what they talked about, but Johnson has been bullish on Trump of late, despite the former president’s dizzying legal troubles.

“I’m all in for President Trump,” Johnson said during a recent appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“I expect he’ll be our nominee, and we have to make [President Joe] Biden a one-term president,” Johnson said.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue