Some Republicans called for the removal of House Speaker Mike Johnson earlier this month over his support for a controversial spending bill.

However, one congressman recently made clear that Johnson's critics don't have the votes to replace him. 

Rep. Mike Lawler says removing Johnson would be "stupid"

According to Breitbart, that claim was put forward by New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler during an interview on Sunday with ABC News' "This Week" host Jonathan Karl.

Republican Rep. Mike Lawler argued Sunday that House Speaker Mike Johnson should be reelected despite Republican infighting on whether he should keep the position after how he handled a spending bill that prevented a government shutdown last week. https://t.co/HUMyPMAj7Y

— ABC News (@ABC) December 30, 2024

Lawler said that Johnson "inherited a disaster" after former Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz joined with Democrats and some members of the House Freedom Caucus to remove former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Lawler called that decision "the single stupidest thing I've ever seen in politics" and added that "removing Mike Johnson would equally be as stupid."

"The fact is that these folks are playing with fire. And if they think they’re somehow going to get a more conservative speaker, they’re kidding themselves," he declared.

Lawler credits Johnson with helping Republicans preserve their majority

"Mike Johnson is arguably the most conservative speaker that’s ever been elected to the office," the New York lawmaker went on to insist.

Lawler asserted that Johnson has "done a great job keeping the conference unified, getting major things off the plate, and ultimately keeping the majority."

He added that these results have come "despite the best efforts of some of these same people that are now calling for Johnson’s removal.

Lawler credited Johnson with holding on to the GOP's majority by helping blue state Republicans such as himself win reelection.

Trump predicts that Johnson will "easily remain speaker"

"And I'll be very clear, as I was during the Kevin McCarthy fight, I'm not going to bend to their will. So, if they think somehow that they are going to end up in a stronger position by removing Mike Johnson, they're not," he went on to add.

Meanwhile, Fox News reported that Johnson got a vote of confidence from President-elect Donald Trump, who told the network on December 19 that the Louisiana congressman will "easily remain speaker" provided that he "acts decisively and tough" and avoids "all of the traps being set by Democrats."

Trump also issued a warning, saying, "Anybody that supports a bill that doesn’t take care of the Democrat quicksand known as the debt ceiling should be primaried and disposed of as quickly as possible."