House Republicans have voted for Mike Johnson to be the newest speaker.
The vote came out to 220-209 with every House Republican voting for him.
The vote marks a breakthrough in a three-week limbo after House Republicans voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the seat earlier this month.
Following the vote, House Republicans erupted into cheers and applause as the Louisiana representative was elevated to one of the highest offices in the US government.
After weeks of political infighting and unsuccessful speaker nominations, the Louisiana Republican representative Mike Johnson has become House speaker.
The vote came out to 220-209 with every House Republican voting for him. The vote marks a breakthrough in a three-week limbo after House Republicans voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the seat earlier this month.
Johnson has already faced questions over his history of supporting Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election
Groups advocating for human rights, including LGBTQ+ and womens’ rights have said that Johnson’s speakership is a threat, condemning his far-right views and voting record.
Democrats believe Johnson’s central role in refuting the 2020 election results and his conservative views on many social issues could help them win back the House next year.
– Chris Stein, Joan E Greve, Maanvi Singh
Now that the House has a speaker, it’s right onto business. Once the speaker is sworn in, the House will consider a resolution to stand with Israel.
The broad resolution affirms Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas. It also calls for sanctions and aid. It will be interesting to see how Johnson and other Republicans land on the issue.
Last month, Johnson was among 93 Republicans who supported an amendment to cut off military assistance to Ukraine, proposed by hard-right congressman Matt Gaetz.
The progressive advocacy organization Stand Up America has called Johnson’s speakership “a threat to our democracy”.
Following Johnson’s win, Stand Up America’s founder and president Sean Eldridge said:
“Today is a dark day for American democracy. Mike Johnson’s record of election denial and his attempts to overturn the will of the people make him totally unfit to be second in line to the presidency. Those who have spent years trying to undermine our democracy cannot be trusted to lead it.
Entrusting the House of Representatives to a man the New York Times called ‘the most important architect of the electoral college objections’ is proof of House Republicans’ contempt for our freedom to vote. The American people deserve a speaker who will stand up for our democracy and our fundamental freedoms, but sadly, House Republicans have embraced Maga extremism instead.”
The Democratic Women’s Caucus has also condemned Mike Johnson’s win, citing his history of supporting legislation that targeted women’s rights including the 2022 US supreme court overturning of Roe v Wade.
House Republicans’ new speaker of the House, Rep. Mike Johnson, is a MAGA extremist through and through. While Democrats have worked to lower costs for working women, Mike Johnson has opposed efforts to make child care more affordable, and wants to cut Medicare and Social Security and ban abortion nationwide,” the caucus said.
“The Democratic Women’s Caucus unanimously voted no – because a vote for speaker Johnson was a vote against women,” it added.
Johnson has previously voted against the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the Pump for Nursing Mothers Act, bipartisan legislations that offered to give expecting and new mothers increased workplace protections.
He also voted against bipartisan legislation to protect victims of sexual assault and harassment, including the Speak Out Act and the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harrassment Act.
The Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group, has condemned Mike Johnson’s new House speakership position.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the president of HRC, Kelley Robinson, said:
“The Maga House majority has selected the most anti-equality speaker in US history by elevating Mike Johnson – this is a choice that will be a stain on the record of everyone who voted for him.
Johnson is someone who doesn’t hesitate to express his disdain for the LGTBQ+ community from the rooftops and then introduces legislation that seeks to erase us from society. Just like Jim Jordan, Mike Johnson is an election-denying, anti-LGBTQ+ extremist, and the lawmakers who appeared to stand on principle in opposing Jordan’s bid have revealed themselves to be just as out-of-touch as their new leader.”
Joe Biden has congratulated Mike Johnson on becoming the House’s newest speaker and called for lawmakers across the aisle to move quickly to address national security needs.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Biden said:
“Jill and I congratulate Speaker Johnson on his election.
As I said when this process began, whoever the Speaker is, I will seek to work with them in good faith on behalf of the American people …
We need to move swiftly to address our national security needs and to avoid a shutdown in 22 days.
Even though we have real disagreements about important issues, there should be mutual effort to find common ground wherever we can.
This is a time for all of us to act responsibly, and to put the good of the American people and the everyday priorities of American families above any partisanship.”
In other news, Minnesota representative Dean Phillips is expected to launch a 2024 Democratic presidential primary challenge against Joe Biden.
Phillips, 54, will reportedly launch his campaign on Friday, Fox News reported, citing people familiar with his campaign.
From there, Phillips will travel to New Hampshire and file his name for the state’s primary ballot.
Several Democrats have discouraged Phillips from running, in response to the expected announcement.
“He ought to go home to Minnesota,” Democratic senator Peter Welch said to the Huffington Post.
“It’s a distraction and he’s going to be hounding on the president not because of policies – the Democrats support the policies and accomplishments of Biden – so he’s going to try to unravel that. It’s not helpful,” Welch added.
The Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren told the Post that she also disapproves of Phillips’s run.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” Warren said to the Post. “I’m all for President Biden getting re-elected. He has delivered for America’s middle class and he’s going to win.”
Despite the ire, Phillips’s campaign seems all the ready to launch. A tour bus for Dean Phillips was spotted in Ohio, CBS News reported.
The bus reading, “Dean Phillips For President”, was seen driving through Ohio on Tuesday, presumably headed towards New Hampshire. The bus also featured Phillips’s slogan: “Make America Affordable Again”.
Johnson is now delivering remarks in his first speech to the House after being elected as the 56th House speaker on Wednesday.
After walking up to the podium, Johnson and the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, hugged as Jeffries handed Johnson the House speaker gavel.
During his speech, Johnson vowed to decentralize power in the House and have members more involved in the process, the Hill reported.
“We owe that to the people,” he said.
Johnson has also said that the first bill he will bring to the floor on Wednesday is a resolution in support of Israel.
From Punchbowl News’ Mica Soellner:
More reactions are pouring in after Mike Johnson becomes the 56th House speaker, following weeks of House electoral chaos.
The Congressional Integrity Project (CIP), a liberal activist group, said those who supported Johnson “voted For Election Denial and Radical Extremism”.
“All of the House Republicans who supported Mike Johnson for Speaker voted for election denial, a national abortion ban, and gutting Social Security and Medicare,” CIP said in a statement.
“Johnson will use the Speaker’s power to continue to undermine our democracy, restore Trump to power, and pursue a Maga Republican agenda that throws working families under the bus,” the group said.
CIP was relaunched by Democrats in 2022 as a counterpoint to House Republicans, particularly following the January 6 insurrection and the belief in the Republican party that the 2020 election results were falsified.
Mike Johnson has published a statement to social media following his win as the House’s newest speaker.
In a statement posted to X, Johnson acknowledged the “arduous” House speaker election process that has dominated the Republican party for weeks.
“It has been an arduous few weeks, and a reminder that the House is as complicated and diverse as the people we represent,” Johnson said.
“The urgency of this moment demands bold, decisive action to restore trust, advance our legislative priorities, and demonstrate good governance,” he said.
Johnson further said that, as House speaker, he will work to restore “trust” in the House and “sanity” within the government more broadly.
“We will restore trust in this body. We will advance a comprehensive conservative policy agenda, combat the harmful policies of the Biden Administration, and support our allies abroad,” Johnson added.
“And we will restore sanity to a government desperately in need of it. Let’s get back to work,” he said.
The Republican National Committee has congratulated Mike Johnson as the House’s newest speaker.
In a statement released following the House vote, RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said:
“Congratulations to the new speaker of the House, Mike Johnson! In eight months, the Republican House majority passed bills to lower energy costs, secure the border, defend parents’ rights, improve public safety, and more. When Republicans come together, we deliver results, and that’s what we need to showcase ahead of 2024. We delivered this majority to bring solutions to the American people. It’s time for Republicans to unite behind speaker Johnson and get back to work.”
House Republicans have voted for Mike Johnson to be the newest speaker.
The vote came out to 220-209 with every House Republican voting for him.
The vote marks a breakthrough in a three-week limbo after House Republicans voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the seat earlier this month.
Following the vote, House Republicans erupted into cheers and applause as the Louisiana representative was elevated to one of the highest offices in the US government.
Steve Scalise, once a top contender of the House speaker race only to then drop out, has voted for Mike Johnson.
As with Kevin McCarthy and Patrick McHenry’s votes for Johnson, Republicans stood up and applauded the Louisiana Republican for his vote.
Patrick McHenry, the House speaker pro tempore, has cast his vote for Mike Johnson as the next House speaker.
Republicans stood and applauded the North Carolina Republican representative.
Former House speaker Kevin McCarthy has voted for Mike Johnson as the next House speaker.
In response, House Republicans stood up around him and clapped.
The Democratic National Committee has criticized Mike Johnson’s House speaker nomination, calling the Louisiana representative the “new Maga speaker-designate”.
In a statement released on Wednesday, a DNC spokesperson, Sarafina Chitika said:
“Many Americans are waking up this morning wondering – who is Mike Johnson? We’re here to help: Maga Republicans’ new speaker-designate supports extreme nationwide abortion bans. He led the charge for Donald Trump denying president Biden’s legitimate election win and tried to overthrow the votes of 81 million Americans.
He’s a leading proponent of slashing Social Security and Medicare. Mike Johnson is a carbon-copy of the Maga extremism that is deeply unpopular with Americans across the country. House Republicans will have to answer for their support for their new Maga speaker next November. Make no mistake: the American people will hold them accountable for this choice.”
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
