Congressman Mike Johnson Elected Speaker of the House

Table Of Content

• In Johnson, House Republicans Elevate One of Their Staunchest Conservatives
• Kevin McCarthy votes for Rep. Mike Johnson for speaker
• Here are the Republicans who may be asked or are mulling run for speaker
• Gaetz denies he moved against McCarthy over not tamping down ethics investigation
• Latest round of candidates
• House to take up resolution declaring support for Israel
• Stefanik nominates Johnson for speaker

Several Republicans in both chambers joined Democrats in securing earmarks in the roughly $1.7 trillion government funding package that became law last month, with more than 7,200 projects in the bill. But after flipping their votes to Mr. McCarthy on Friday, some of the former holdouts said they had been assured by an emerging framework, which is expected to cap the size of government funding bills, call for spending cuts and allow for amendments on the House floor. They had demanded the ability to hold a vote on the House floor for each individual earmark.

In Johnson, House Republicans Elevate One of Their Staunchest Conservatives

A firm supporter of President Joe Biden’s agenda, Clark is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and has served on the powerful House Appropriations Committee. She is an advocate of gun reform, Medicare for All and raising the federal minimum wage. In 2016, Clark joined then-Georgia Rep. John Lewis and others in staging a sit-in on the House floor to protest the lack of votes on gun control legislation. "Mike is a strong leader who has the full support of our entire conference, and has a proven track record as a conservative leader who will fight for the American people against President Biden's radical agenda that is crushing hard-working families," Scalise said in the statement. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, another Scalise supporter, told reporters after Johnson was elected speaker-designate that he believes Republicans are "back" and the conference's agenda "back on track."

Kevin McCarthy votes for Rep. Mike Johnson for speaker

Johnson has laid out a tentative legislative schedule to approve new spending and take up other pieces of legislation, but things could change quickly as he confronts the realities of governing, especially given the fractious nature of the Republican conference. "We're going to dispense with all the usual ceremonies and celebrations that traditionally follow a new speakership because we have no time for either one," Johnson said. Washington — Rep. Mike Johnson, a Republican of Louisiana, won election as the new speaker of the House on Wednesday, ending three weeks of chaos since Rep. Kevin McCarthy's historic ouster.

Here are the Republicans who may be asked or are mulling run for speaker

“We are unified and so proud to have elected Mike Johnson as speaker of the People’s House,” Elise Stefanik says to kick off a news conference on the Capitol steps. “From an outside point of view these last few weeks probably look like total chaos, confusion, no end in sight," he said. "But from my perspective, this is one of the greatest experiences of the recent history of our republic." By Friday evening, the final holdouts — once dubbed the Never Kevins — conceded that McCarthy would be elected speaker. Because of the GOP’s razor-thin, four-seat majority, he needed every last vote to get him across the finish line. The fresh support still didn’t earn McCarthy the majority of all House members voting, which he needed to win the speaker’s gavel.

GOP Rep. Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma is considering a run for conference vice chair – the leadership role previously occupied by now-Speaker Mike Johnson, according to her spokesperson. The sources agreed that Dunn does not appear to harbor any ill will toward Jean-Pierre, with many suggesting that the encouragement that the press secretary shift to an outside role was meant to be a long-term boost to Jean-Pierre that plays more to her strengths. A number of Democrats both inside and close to the White House said they were unaware of Dunn’s plot to replace Jean-Pierre, or claimed to only know about it through the rumor mill, but several said that the accounts by The Post’s sources rang true. Dunn has supported Kirby’s ask, said the fourth source, but still Jean-Pierre has not relented, even after Kirby’s desire was publicly reported in January by Axios.

In the Trump presidency, Johnson argued that then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's move to rip up a copy of his State of the Union speech was a crime. “A lot of people have been talking about this the last 48 hours, and I did a little legal memo to point out to my colleagues that she actually committed a felony,” Johnson said on Fox News at the time. On Tuesday night, after he was nominated, Johnson declined to respond to a question about his role in the election objections.

Who is new House Speaker Mike Johnson and what can he accomplish? - PBS NewsHour

Who is new House Speaker Mike Johnson and what can he accomplish?.

Posted: Wed, 25 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Latest round of candidates

And the Senate, traditionally viewing itself as the more refined chamber, chose not to hang around for the slugfest in the House. Instead, senators organized without incident and expeditiously vacated the Capitol to let their counterparts across the Rotunda sully themselves alone. The Republican divisions obstructing Mr. McCarthy’s decade-long ambition of becoming speaker of the House have been playing out on both the national stage in Washington and a far smaller though equally telling one in his hometown and home district.

5 things to know on Mike Johnson, the new speaker of the House - NBC News

5 things to know on Mike Johnson, the new speaker of the House.

Posted: Wed, 25 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

In this scenario, the speaker is known for undercutting the president's agenda by blocking measures by the minority party or rejecting bills by the Senate. The speaker is responsible for ensuring that the House passes legislation supported by the majority party. In pursuing this goal, the speaker may use their influence over the Rules committee, which is in charge of the business of the House. Also part of the proposal, Republicans familiar with it said, was a commitment by the leader to give the ultraconservative faction approval over a third of the seats on the powerful Rules Committee, which controls what legislation reaches the floor and how it is debated. He also agreed to open government spending bills to a freewheeling debate in which any lawmaker could force votes on proposed changes. As the office has developed historically, however, it has taken on a clearly partisan cast, very different from the speakership of most Westminster-style legislatures, such as the speaker of the United Kingdom's House of Commons, which is meant to be scrupulously non-partisan.

"We're going to dispense with all the usual ceremonies and celebrations that traditionally follow a new speakership because we have no time for either one," Johnson said after the vote. "The American people's business is too urgent in this moment. The hour is late. The crisis is great." The House has been in a state of uncertainty and chaos since Oct. 3, when rebels forced a vote to oust Mr. McCarthy as speaker. Eight Republicans backed that move along with Democrats, who remained united behind their own leader, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Republicans had cast aside two previous winners of their closed-door nominating process — Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio — before settling on Mr. Emmer.

Meanwhile, the power of committee chairmen was curtailed, further increasing the relative influence of the speaker. Speaking to the chamber after his election, Johnson said the U.S. must rein in government spending and address the growing national debt, which he called "the greatest threat to our national security." While Republicans are celebrating finally electing a speaker, across the Capitol, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, chimes in with a reminder of the impending mid-November government shutdown looming unless Congress can pass legislation to keep it funded. “I look forward to meeting with Speaker Johnson soon to discuss the path forward to avoid a government shutdown,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement. After days of difficult closed-door negotiations, leaders of the far-right House Freedom Caucus extracted a suite of concessions from McCarthy.

Instead, he waited until the end of the roll call to vote “present.” Republicans cheered, but it was not enough. By Friday afternoon, Mr. McCarthy had won over 15 of the 21 Republicans who had defected, and he pressed into the night for more converts, a remarkable turnabout for a man who only days before appeared to be headed for defeat. His path was narrow until the end; only a few of the six remaining holdouts were seen as open to negotiating further.