Republicans elect a new speaker for the US House of Representatives
Republicans finally elected the Speaker of the US House of Representatives on Wednesday, turning the page on disagreements within the party’s ranks that lasted weeks and paralyzed Congress during a period of international and internal crises.
Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, who is an ally of former President Donald Trump and led the legal efforts aimed at changing the outcome of the 2020 elections, won his party’s consensus on him as the 56th Speaker of the House of Representatives, which has been suspended since the right-wing of the Republican Party ousted Kevin McCarthy on October 3.
In a speech announcing his acceptance of the position, he said that his first step would be to propose a resolution supporting Israel in its war against Hamas.
The Republican speaker said, “Our nation’s greatest ally in the Middle East is under attack… The first bill I will present to this House in a short time will be to support our very dear friend Israel… It’s something we are late in doing”.
The Louisiana representative was the fourth Republican chosen by the party within three weeks to replace McCarthy, but he was the only one to garner sufficient support in the House, where representatives stood to applaud him warmly.
“The Republican majority in the House of Representatives is united,” Johnson told reporters, amid applause from representatives after his nomination.
Perhaps what helped Johnson (51) is his distance from the spotlight, as he’s a lawyer and defender of religious rights who does not face enemies from his party, something that has led to the failure of the candidates before him so far.
In addition to being his party’s first choice, Johnson benefited from the urgent need felt by the representatives to put an end to the chaos in the House, knowing that winning the position is considered very difficult in light of the divisions within the ranks of the Republican bloc in the House of Representatives.
“I haven’t heard a single negative comment about him,” Trump said before the vote… Everyone loves him and he’s respected by everyone… He’s someone who will be amazing for perhaps years”.
While he was a low-profile member of the leadership as vice chairman of the caucus, Johnson won a seat in the House of Representatives in 2017 after sparking controversy through legislation deemed anti-gay in Louisiana.
He also voted against turning same-sex marriage protections into law last year.
He was the leader of a group of more than a hundred Republicans who signed a legal memorandum supporting a lawsuit aimed at changing the results of the 2020 elections in four swing states between Republicans and Democrats, which President Joe Biden won.
ABC News asked Johnson on Tuesday evening about the case that the Supreme Court refused to decide, but he merely answered, “The next question”.
Johnson is married and has four children.
He received the support of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, noting that both of them failed in their efforts to win the position of Speaker of the House.
His failure would have deepened the conflict within Republican ranks, as moderates began searching for Democratic support through a unanimous candidate, an option that would have been met with categorical rejection by the hard-rights who stood behind McCarthy’s ouster.
Johnson will be the least experienced Speaker of the post-Civil War era, having never chaired a committee or held a senior leadership position.
He will begin work almost immediately to avoid a government shutdown that could cost him his job unless he’s able to reach an agreement on the 2024 budget that satisfies his party and figures who are expert in negotiating, such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer all the way to President Biden.
Rep. Mike Johnson, also expected to lead his divided bloc to reach an agreement on financing for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
