The Republican-led House elected Rep. Mike Johnson as the new Speaker signaling a major leadership change that comes about twenty days after the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy.
A vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, and a key congressional figure in the failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Johnson will now take the reins of the bitterly divided House Republican majority and faces the looming threat of a government shutdown next month.
The House was in a state of stalemate following the unexpected removal of McCarthy by extreme conservatives, which took the chamber into new terrain. Johnson’s ascent ends this paralysis.
Republicans made three unsuccessful attempts to unite behind a new speaker nominee before settling on Johnson, a conservative congressman who hasn’t made much of an impression on the national scene thus far.
In a remarkable show of unity following weeks of fierce GOP infighting, the Louisiana Republican was elected with 220 votes and no Republican defections.
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The new speaker will now face a litany of pressing issues. Government funding is set to expire on November 17, and the GOP-controlled House will need to work with Democratic-led Senate to avert a shutdown, setting up an early leadership test.
Lawmakers must also decide whether to send further aid to Ukraine as it fights a war against Russian aggression as well as aid to Israel in its war against Hamas.
There is widespread bipartisan support for aid to Israel, but many House Republicans are opposed to sending additional aid to Ukraine.
Johnson was first elected to the House in 2016 and has previously served as vice chairman of the House Republican Conference.
A Trump ally, he supported objections to Electoral College results when Congress met to certify Joe Biden’s presidential win on January 6, 2021 – the day pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol seeking to overturn the results of the election.
He also lobbied fellow House Republicans to support a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn the election.