Eric Schmitz: Coalitions director, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)

As soon as it was clear Republicans would keep the House and secure trifecta control of government, Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) coalitions director, Eric Schmitz, homed in on two targets: Secure the gavel for Johnson, and push through President Trump’s legislative agenda.

Schmitz’s job is to manage relationships with outside conservative groups, trade associations, and industry leaders, addressing their concerns and leveraging their support for the Speaker. And he showed the strength of those relationships over the last year.

The week after the 2024 election, Johnson’s office rolled out endorsements from more than 50 high-profile conservative organizations and leaders. The list grew to around 100 just ahead of the Speaker’s reelection on the House floor.

It was a major statement from the outside groups, many of which do not normally engage in congressional leadership fights and represent a conservative base that is historically eager to topple Republican Speakers. 

Johnson, though, is distinct from other recent Speakers in that he comes from the conservative movement, having worked as a constitutional lawyer and on religious liberty issues, including for Alliance Defending Freedom.

“He already had a ton of those relationships. So for me, it was just continuing to build upon them,” Schmitz said.

Next on the calendar was the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” of President Trump’s partisan tax cut and spending priorities, which needed to clear the House GOP’s razor-thin majority. 

Getting outside conservative support for that legislation, though, had been in the works for months before Republicans knew whether they would have the trifecta control of government that would allow them to pursue such major legislation.

“We really started bringing groups in last summer, to help create the contours of the bill and find areas of alignment,” Schmitz said, “so that once pen was on paper, starting 2025, we can activate them, and get them to support and create an environment where we could get them to encourage our members to support the bill.”

In conjunction with other leadership members and the White House, the bill reached around 1,000 endorsements from outside interest groups and companies.

Before the outside supporters go public, though, it is Schmitz who is part of that “constant engagement loop” that ensures later success.