And the Nobel Prize for Bootlicking goes to …

House Speaker Mike Johnson is flattering in the extreme: launching an international campaign Receive President Donald Trump the Nobel Peace Prize he has long been desired— this time for achieving a fragile ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages.

“This is a historic moment that deserves enormous praise and recognition on the world stage. This is truly a historic moment,” Johnson said on Tuesday. “For generations, we have strived for peace in the Middle East. Everyone around the world has strived for it. And now President Trump has made it happen.”

Johnson made the announcement during what has become a daily ritual on Capitol Hill: a news conference in the midst of a government shutdown now in its 14th day. He opened the event by talking not about the impasse in Washington, but about Gaza.

“I am proud to announce that together with my friend Speaker [Amir] Ohana from the Israeli Knesset, the equivalent of our Congress, we are going to start together a project to rally speakers and presidents of parliaments around the world so that we can jointly nominate President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize next year,” Johnson said. “No one has ever deserved this award more, and that is an objective fact.”

Ohana first laid the groundwork Monday, saying Trump deserved “highest honor“for his role in the Middle East. Johnson's announcement formalized the partnership between the two speakers – part of a growing international campaign that already includes the Pakistani prime minister, who made a similar promise Trump stands next to him.

Johnson's praise came on the heels of Trump's trip to Israel and Egypt to celebrate the first phase of the peace deal. The President's 20-Point Plan for Gaza still fragile and earlybut the return of the hostages and the start of reconstruction talks is a major achievement.

Johnson, however, did not curb his enthusiasm.

He called it “an undeniable fact that no president has taken on the job of saving lives and securing peace with more determination—and with such remarkable success—as President Trump.” He then went further, saying that under Trump's leadership the world was witnessing the dawn of a “new golden age” for “the entire free world.”

This is not the first time Johnson has tried to boost Trump's Nobel Prize status. Earlier this year, he said Trump deserved an award due to a reported drop in crime rates in Washington, D.C., since the President took over the police department – a drop that started long before that Trump showed up.

For years, Trump and his allies have insisted he deserves the honor. claiming “all agree. But the survey suggests otherwise.

According to September Their survey according to The Washington Post, 76% of Americans believe Trump is doing this. No deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, although only 22% think he deserves it. Even Republicans are split down the middle, while independents and Democrats are overwhelmingly opposed to each other.

And Trump didn't get it this year. Nobel Committee awarded Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado received the award shortly after Trump announced the first phase of the Gaza peace deal.

As Johnson works to boost Trump's international prestige, he there's little to show on the rear. The government shutdown continues. On Tuesday the Senate will hold on This is the eighth vote on the GOP short-term spending bill, which Democrats have already rejected seven times. Meanwhile Home didn't vote for anything from September 19, and many participants stay in their districts.

When asked why Democrats weren't moving, Johnson became furious.

“I have nothing to negotiate,” he said. clicked.

So instead of reopening the government, he launches a global campaign to get Trump's reward – a convenient distraction.