Who is Mike Johnson? What to know about the new House speaker

Table Of Content

• Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar nominates Hakeem Jeffries for House speaker
• House recesses ahead of vote on Israel resolution
• Passing a farm bill
• Jeffries: Democrats will continue finding common ground with GOP "whenever and wherever possible"
• Swing-district Republican attacks Democrats who heckled him over his support for Johnson
• Johnson says he "feels very good" about speaker vote
• Johnson enters speaker’s office for first time since being sworn in

Johnson received an "F" grade from Republicans for Ukraine on its GOP Congressional Report Card. Turning to Jeffries, Aguilar said the Democratic leader has "never turned his back on the will of the American people." Before the vote in the House, Johnson said he had not spoken to the president, but said he assumed he would soon. Jeffries closed his remarks declaring, "Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. He's doing a great job under difficult circumstances and no amount of election denialism will ever change that reality. Not now. Not ever." The Democratic leader also vowed that his party will continue to support Ukraine to defeat Russia's aggression. "Our commitment to Israel's security is ironclad and Israel has a right to defend itself under the international rules of war against the brutal terror unleashed on its citizens by Hamas," Jeffries said.

Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar nominates Hakeem Jeffries for House speaker

Shortly after 1 p.m., the House began voting for speaker, with Johnson as the Republican nominee and Jeffries as the Democratic nominee. He was the first candidate since McCarthy's ouster to face no opposition from his own party. Asked if he was worried Johnson might attempt to overturn the results of the 2024 election, Mr. Biden said he wasn't. Johnson returned to the House to applause from those in the chamber, and McHenry called the House back into order. The first order of business for the House under the new speaker is to consider a resolution from Texas Rep. Mike McCaul "standing with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists."

House recesses ahead of vote on Israel resolution

Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota declined Tuesday to say whether former President Donald Trump was a factor in his decision to end his bid for the speakership. Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, was initially included, but dropped out before voting began. Republicans held a candidate forum Tuesday night with five members vying to be the next speaker-designee after Emmer withdrew. Johnson won 128 votes, and Donalds received 29 votes, and there was a vote of "present." McCarthy, who was not a nominee, received 43 votes. Although Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was not in the running, he received more votes than Donalds in the final round. Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana won in a three-round vote late Tuesday to become the next speaker-designee — the fourth since Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California was ousted from the position on Oct. 3.

Passing a farm bill

Colleagues say the deeply religious Louisiana Republican who calls himself a “servant” will be a steady hand and give them a fresh start. Many hope they will finally be able to move past the seemingly intractable divisions within their conference that have felled every House GOP leader in the past decade. Rep. Don Bacon is seated next to New York GOP members Nick LaLota and Anthony D’Esposito, as he did for the previous votes. "Hakeem Jeffries has not turned his back on the will of the American people. The son of two social workers, he's always stood by the side of working families. The most pressing needs of everyday Americans are his north star." This is the first round of voting with Rep. Mike Johnson as the Republican speaker nominee.

Abortion rights proponents have noted his work from 2010 as a senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, citing a letter in which he fought to shut down an abortion clinic in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He unified the fractious Republican Conference, winning votes from right-wing detractors of McCarthy, R-Calif., as well as centrist Republicans who opposed Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. WASHINGTON — Republicans elected a new speaker of the House on Wednesday in Rep. Mike Johnson, ending 22 days of a paralyzed chamber after a group of rebels overthrew Rep. Kevin McCarthy. Scalise had been the party's first nominee after McCarthy was ousted, but withdrew his name one day after winning the internal GOP vote.

Swing-district Republican attacks Democrats who heckled him over his support for Johnson

"It's unsustainable. We have to get the country back on track. This is not going to be an easy task, and tough decisions will have to be made. But the consequences if we don't act now are unbearable," he said. Gaetz seemed receptive to Johnson's plan on Monday, calling it "quite attractive." The Florida Republican voted for Johnson in Wednesday's vote, along with all other Republican members. McCarthy also said he supported Johnson, as did moderates and far-right members across the spectrum. In one of his first gestures after his election, Johnson told Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries that he looked forward to working with him.

GOP Rep. Scott Perry, a conservative member from Pennsylvania, said Tuesday that members will likely give Johnson some leeway on government spending bills. A member of Congress since 2017, Johnson has no experience in the House leadership, but vowed to hit the ground running and get the House back to work. A government shutdown is fast approaching, and the White House has requested a $106 billion emergency aid package for Israel, Ukraine and other priorities.

Former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media site, early Wednesday to urge House Republicans to back Johnson for speaker, less than a day after he effectively derailed Majority Whip Tom Emmer's own bid for the gavel. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had asked the Supreme Court to block "the use of unlawful election results without review and ratification by" the four state legislatures and allow them to appoint a different slate of presidential electors. Rep. Carlos Giménez of Florida, who supported McCarthy over Jordan, called Johnson a "straightforward leader" who can unite the Republican conference in a post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Gimenez, former chief of the City of Miami Fire Department, highlighted that both Johnson and McCarthy are the sons of firefighters. Rep. Elise Stefanik, the chair of the House Republican conference, will deliver the speech nominating Johnson for speaker, according to a Republican aide.

"Today is the day that House Republicans will humbly look in our hearts and elect Mike Johnson as speaker of the People's House," she said. The California Democrat noted Johnson's role in the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, chairman of the Democratic caucus, rose to nominate Jeffries for speaker and accused Republicans of manufacturing a crisis that has lasted 22 days.

Johnson has also co-sponsored legislation by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., called the Protect Children’s Innocence Act, which would make it a crime to provide gender-affirming care to people under 18 years of age. A spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ rights group, labeled Johnson “Jim Jordan with a jacket and a smile,” referring to the right-wing firebrand from Ohio who chairs the House Judiciary Committee. Johnson has a spotless history of voting against legal abortion, earning an "A+" rating from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

As Johnson made his way from his House office to the floor, he told CBS News that he "feels very good" about the vote and believes he can secure the necessary 217 votes on the first round. If all 221 Republicans and 212 Democrats mark themselves present, Johnson will need 217 votes to win the gavel. Two seats are vacant due to the resignations of Reps. Chris Stewart, a Republican from Utah, and David Cicilline, a Democrat from Rhode Island. Stefanik praised Johnson as a "man of deep faith" who is a "titan" on the Judiciary Committee and "dedicated member" of the Armed Services Committee.

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Among the more conservative members of the GOP conference, Johnson has consistently opposed a woman’s right to abortion — “we will get the number of abortions to ZERO!! ” he posted on Twitter, now known as X, earlier this year, referencing the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning the nationwide right to an abortion. He also opposed legislation last year that would require states to recognize same sex marriages that were legal where they were performed. “A friend to all and an enemy to none,” Republican conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik said when nominating Johnson ahead of the speaker vote Wednesday. "Mike is a titan on the [House] Judiciary Committee and a dedicated member of the House Armed Services Committee, and as vice chair of our conference, he has united all of our members to speak clearly and boldly on behalf of the American people," Stefanik said. "A friend to all and an enemy to none, Mike is strong, tough, and fair, and above all, Mike is kind."

3rd Republican joins motion to oust Mike Johnson as House speaker - NPR

3rd Republican joins motion to oust Mike Johnson as House speaker.

Posted: Fri, 19 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

A single hearing has been held as part of the impeachment effort, by the House Oversight Committee in late September. During the proceeding, law professor Jonathan Turley, who was a witness for the GOP majority, said he did "not believe that the current evidence would support articles of impeachment." Johnson said lawmakers "have a duty to the American people to explain this to them so they understand it well, and we are going to establish a bipartisan debt commission to begin working on this crisis immediately." "We're in overtime right now, right? So you don't blame the backup quarterback for the failures of the guy that just came out of the game," Perry told reporters. "Even though we have real disagreements about important issues, there should be mutual effort to find common ground wherever we can," the president said.

He noted that Democrats provided support for legislation to raise the debt ceiling, avoid a government shutdown and provide disaster relief funding. "We'll be talking about how that's going to be done here in the coming days and it's a top priority." "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." Former Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the Judiciary panel during Trump’s first impeachment, said Wednesday that during hectic times on the committee, Johnson would calmly try to organize a way forward.

But Johnson's ability to avoid Trump's ire cleared a hurdle for him within the House GOP, which is attuned to the wishes of the "MAGA" base. 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. Johnson is a constitutional lawyer who has used his talents to craft some creative — and controversial — theories. The most notable is his role in devising an argument aimed at keeping Donald Trump in power even though he lost the 2020 election. Emmer began to lose support from conservative lawmakers shortly after Trump's missive, and he bowed out of the contest shortly after.

Johnson has been a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump and was a key congressional figure in the failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Johnson was first elected to the House in 2016 and serves as vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, as well as GOP deputy whip, an assistant leadership role. 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."