Who Is Mike Johnson? The New Speaker of the House The New York Times

Table Of Content

• House to take up resolution declaring support for Israel
• With Johnson, Republicans are rallying behind one of the staunchest religious conservatives in the House.
• Tom Emmer won nomination only to drop out after opposition by Trump and far right
• Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
• Largest city in California, United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A New York Times article last year called Johnson “the most important architect of the Electoral College objections” on Jan. 6, 2021. His argument to colleagues was that certain states’ changes to their voting procedures during the Covid-19 pandemic were unconstitutional, an argument that became more palatable to lawmakers than the fabricated claims of mass fraud. The little-known congressman was first elected in 2016, representing a solidly Republican part of north and western Louisiana. He has ascended through the ranks, chairing the conservative Republican Study Committee and holding the position of House Republican Conference vice chair. He sits on the Judiciary Committee (and chairs a subcommittee on the Constitution), the Armed Services Committee and the newly created select committee on "Weaponization of the Federal Government." The new speaker played a pivotal role in congressional efforts to overturn the 2020 election and opposes abortion rights and gay marriage.

House to take up resolution declaring support for Israel

Asked if he was worried Johnson might attempt to overturn the results of the 2024 election, Mr. Biden said he wasn't. "There are many throughout this country who are understandably alarmed at the turbulence of the moment, at the chaos, the dysfunction and the extremism that has been unleashed in this chamber from the very beginning of this Congress," he said. Jeffries urged swift action on a package to provide aid to Israel, Ukraine and other U.S. allies, which the White House has requested. The New York Democrat pledged his party will back Mr. Biden as he works to free hostages held by Hamas. 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." Johnson said he looked forward to working with Jeffries despite their differences.

With Johnson, Republicans are rallying behind one of the staunchest religious conservatives in the House.

Before the vote Wednesday, numerous members of Congress said they knew little about Johnson, with some Republican senators saying they had never even met him. Gaetz called him "MAGA Mike Johnson" in an appearance Wednesday on right-wing host Steve Bannon's podcast. Last month, Johnson was among 93 Republicans who voted for an amendment by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to cut off U.S. military assistance for Ukraine. Johnson's voting record has earned him a lifetime rating of 92% from the American Conservative Union and 90% from Heritage Action.

Tom Emmer won nomination only to drop out after opposition by Trump and far right

Seeking 'the right side of history,' Speaker Mike Johnson risks his job to deliver aid to Ukraine - The Associated Press

Seeking 'the right side of history,' Speaker Mike Johnson risks his job to deliver aid to Ukraine.

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

The views are sharply at odds with those of most Americans, according to opinion polls that have found the public is broadly supportive of gay rights. Mr. Johnson’s abrupt rise to the speaker post this week in the depressed and divided House Republican conference underscores the rightward lurch of the G.O.P., which dumped his more mainstream predecessor, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California. Mr. Johnson said Mr. Jordan called him when he was running for office, because “he knew I was a conservative,” contributed money to his campaign and invited him to Washington for a meeting with him and other Freedom Caucus members.

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

A social conservative, Mr. Johnson is a lawyer and the former chairman of the Republican Study Committee. Instead, he moved quickly to bring up a resolution expressing solidarity and support for Israel. His next order of business, he said, would be addressing what he called the country’s “broken border” with Mexico.

Hastert was speaker through the last two Clinton years and first six of the George W. Bush presidency. But he voluntarily resigned after the GOP lost badly in the 2006 midterms, a defeat Bush called "a thumpin' " at the time. It’s been two months since a klatch of House Republicans forced the ouster of then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy because, frankly, they didn’t like him.

It’s official: All 50 states have sent women to Congress

In pursuing this goal, the speaker may use their influence over the Rules committee, which is in charge of the business of the House. The House elects a new speaker by roll call vote when it first convenes after a general election for its two-year term, or when a speaker dies, resigns or is removed from the position intra-term. But by late Tuesday night, Mr. Johnson appeared to have put together a coalition that brought him closer to capturing the speakership than any candidate has been since hard-right rebels deposed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy three weeks ago.

The speaker presides over debate, appoints members of select and conference committees, establishes the legislative agenda, maintains order within the House, and administers the oath of office to House members. The individual in this office is second in the line of presidential succession, following the vice president. When Scalise had been the GOP nominee for speaker earlier this month, Jordan had offered to give his nominating speech. A huge faction of Jordan’s current opposition within the GOP conference is made up of Scalise supporters, and Jordan allies are frustrated that the majority leader hasn’t done more to bring members onto Jordan’s side. House Republicans emerged from today's meeting, which went on for more than three hours, with a plan to scrap the interim speaker resolution and move forward with more floor votes for Jordan's speakership bid. Sources say Jordan tapped former New York GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin – who is close with the freshman New York Republicans — to help lean on the holdouts, some of whom named Zeldin on the floor during speaker votes this week.

"The American people's business is too urgent in this moment. The hour is late. The crisis is great." Speaking after the vote, Johnson 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. Johnson now faces a daunting list of challenges, with a fast-approaching government shutdown chief among them. The House is staring down a deadline of Nov. 17, when current government funding expires. In his blueprint for the next few months, Johnson said a stopgap measure extending funding until January or April may be needed to approve more spending and avoid a shutdown.

He also helped ensure the passage of several domestic measures and foreign assistance programs advocated by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman. If the motion is brought to the floor, the three Republican votes supporting it could be enough for passage if they are joined by all Democrats in the chamber. Asked whether she plans to move forward with her motion to vacate Johnson’s speakership, she said, “It’s coming regardless of what Mike Johnson decides to do." Several House Republicans who oppose Rep. Jim Jordan's speakership bid left a closed-door meeting with the Ohio congressman Thursday saying they have not changed their minds.

Clark is only the second woman after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to serve in one of the top two party leadership positions in Congress. In a letter to colleagues earlier Wednesday, Johnson outlined his first priority will be trying to pass the remaining spending bills that have so far languished in the House one by one. One of the most influential speakers in history was Democrat Sam Rayburn.[48] Rayburn had the most cumulative time as speaker in history, holding office from 1940 to 1947, 1949 to 1953, and 1955 to 1961. He helped shape many bills, working quietly in the background with House committees.

The exchange reflected the lawmaker’s deeply conservative views, particularly on social issues, and his tendency to express them in inflammatory ways. When the witness, Dr. Yashica Robinson, a board member for Physicians for Reproductive Health, responded that such a situation had never occurred, Mr. Johnson only doubled down. “Do you support the right of a woman who is just seconds away from birthing a healthy child to have an abortion?

He had Mr. Trump and the far right in his corner, but ultimately failed to win over more centrist members of his party who steadfastly refused to support him. And the hard-right Republicans who voted to oust Mr. McCarthy, setting into motion the three-week stretch of chaos that left the House without a leader, said Mr. Johnson’s ascension to the top job made their decision to depose the California Republican worth it. Now that a House speaker has been selected following a days-long stalemate and members have finally been sworn in, the chamber can look toward picking back up business and organizing GOP-led committees. Clark served as assistant speaker in the previous Congress, then the party’s No. 4 position in the House. She first joined leadership in 2019 as vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus.

On the eve of the Jan. 6 votes, Mr. Johnson had honed his arguments undermining the election to be more palatable. He presented colleagues with arguments they could use to oppose the will of the voters without embracing conspiracy theories and the lies of widespread fraud pushed by Mr. Trump. Mr. Johnson instead faulted the way some states had changed voting procedures during the pandemic, saying it was unconstitutional. No credible evidence has ever emerged to support the conspiracy theories about Dominion and another voting machine firm having helped to ensure Mr. Trump’s defeat. In April, Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle a defamation suit by Dominion over reports broadcast by Fox that Dominion machines were susceptible to hacking and had flipped votes from Mr. Trump to Mr. Biden. A social conservative, Mr. Johnson played a leading role in recruiting House Republicans to sign a legal brief supporting a lawsuit seeking to overturn the results.

"The challenge before us is great, but the time for action is now and I will not let you down," Johnson said. In a statement distributed by the White House, President Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden extended their congratulations to Johnson, and the president reiterated his commitment to working with him "in good faith" for the American people. "The people's House is back in business," Johnson told colleagues before being sworn in.

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." Johnson was the party's fourth nominee for speaker in three weeks, having taken the place of Rep. Tom Emmer, whose candidacy lasted all of four hours on Tuesday. Two other previous candidates, Reps. Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan, withdrew their names from consideration earlier in the process after failing to unite the party's various factions.