President Trump on Wednesday endorsed five House Republicans for reelection after meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson to discuss the party’s nascent effort to hold onto the House majority in the 2026 midterm elections.
Four of the Republican lawmakers the president endorsed — Reps. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, Gabe Evans of Colorado and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania — are among 35 seats the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee considers in play.
Mr. Trump also endorsed John McGuire of Virginia, a freshman Republican who ousted former House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good in a primary, thanks in part to the president’s support. Mr. McGuire beat his Democrat opponent by 15 points in November.
Democrats only need to flip three seats in 2026 to retake the House majority, but Republicans are confident they can hold them off and even pick up some seats. That would defy midterm trends in which the party in control of the White House typically loses congressional seats.
Mr. Trump’s public approval rating has been sinking and multiple polls conducted as he approaches his 100th day in office on Tuesday show he has the lowest level of support of any modern president this early in a first or second term.
“I’m not worried at all,” Mr. Johnson said when asked if he was concerned Mr. Trump’s policies could harm the GOP’s effort to keep the House.
The speaker said the president was “in good spirits” during their meeting on Monday, which also included National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson.
“We talked about the upcoming races, the midterm elections, and we’re very bullish on it,” Mr. Johnson said. “He issued a first round of some endorsements today. There’ll be more coming out of our incumbent House members who deserve to be reelected.”
Mr. Johnson said House Republicans are playing offense in 2026 as they target the 13 Democrats in districts Mr. Trump won. There are only three Republican incumbents in districts that Democratic nominee and former Vice President Kamala Harris carried.
“So it’s a lopsided map. It gives us a great opportunity,” the speaker said.
While Mr. Johnson acknowledged “a little tumult in the markets with the tariff policy and all of that,” he and other party faithful, including top GOP donors he’s spoken with, do not see those issues lasting into the 2026 campaigns.
“They understand that this is a long game to be played, and this is all going to settle out,” he said.
