Democrats torpedo Marjorie Taylor Greene push to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson

Table Of Content

• Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar nominates Hakeem Jeffries for House speaker
• Calmes: MAGA Mike sings a chorus of ‘Kumbaya’ with the Democrats, but for how long?
• Biden congratulates Johnson in statement
• House GOP conference chair Elise Stefanik nominates Mike Johnson: "Today is the day we get this done"
• What is the GOP House majority after the special elections?
• Prosecutors seek more sanctions for Trump as key witness resumes testimony in hush money trial

“We need leaders in the House of Representatives that are going to get this done,” said Greene, R-Ga., holding up a red “MAGA” hat from Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign movement. Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services. Each dot is a member of the House of Representatives positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top). In February, former New York Rep. George Santos's seat was flipped by Democrat Tom Suozzi after he was expelled from Congress last year for misusing campaign funds. Former Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher's resignation this month also set Republicans back as an election to fill his seat won't be held until November due to the timing of his resignation at Wisconsin election laws.

Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar nominates Hakeem Jeffries for House speaker

Boehner worked hard to fashion budget deals with both a Democratic President Barack Obama and a Democratic Senate. But his efforts alienated some in his own ranks who in 2015 formed an insurgent group known as the House Freedom Caucus. Increasingly exasperated with his untenable predicament, Boehner simply resigned in October of that year. Johnson has gained stature and won bipartisan praise for letting the whole House vote on the aid package.

Calmes: MAGA Mike sings a chorus of ‘Kumbaya’ with the Democrats, but for how long?

A constitutional lawyer and former member of the Louisiana state House, Johnson was first elected to the U.S. He is the first Louisianan to become speaker and the first Southerner to serve as speaker since Republican Newt Gingrich of Georgia in the 1990s. 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. Johnson also previously led an amicus brief on behalf of more than 100 Republican members of Congress in support of a lawsuit seeking to overturn the 2020 election results in favor of Trump in four swing states, which was eventually thrown out by the Supreme Court. Some Republicans — and Democrats — wanted to give McHenry more power to get on with the routine business of governing.

Biden congratulates Johnson in statement

” 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. Addressing the House after his election, Johnson repeatedly invoked his Christian faith and talked about his upbringing — his mother was 17 when he was born, he said, and his father was a firefighter who was injured in the line of duty. He promised to quickly move forward on conservative priorities like support for Israel and border security. “A friend to all and an enemy to none,” Republican conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik said when nominating Johnson ahead of the speaker vote Wednesday. During the turmoil, the House is now led by a speaker pro tempore, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., the bow tie-wearing chairman of the Financial Services Committee.

House GOP conference chair Elise Stefanik nominates Mike Johnson: "Today is the day we get this done"

Prior to that, the last Republican speaker had been Nicholas Longworth of Ohio, who died in 1931. Technically, he died as speaker, but his party lost its majority before the next Congress convened and elected a Democrat to the job. Just such a "motion to vacate the chair" was filed against Johnson in March by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

What is the GOP House majority after the special elections?

Emmer voted to certify the 2020 election results after Jan. 6, 2021, but signed onto an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to overturn the presidential election results. 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. 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. In a press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House, President Biden welcomed news of Johnson's election.

House Elects Mike Johnson as Speaker, Embracing a Hard-Right Conservative

"We continue to look forward to finding bipartisan common ground whenever and wherever possible." 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." "I want to say to the American people on behalf of all of us here, we hear you. We know the challenges you're facing. We know that there's a lot going on in our country, domestically and abroad, and we're ready to get to work again to solve those problems and we will," he said.

Elevating Johnson to speaker would give Louisianians two high-ranking GOP leaders, putting him above Scalise, who was rejected by hard-liners in his own bid as speaker. Johnson's political positions are largely attributed to his ultraconservative religious views, which have led him to fight for prayer in public schools and lobby against reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ freedoms. Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson, 51, served as a deputy whip for the House GOP and sits on the House Judiciary Committee.

Who is Mike Johnson, the new Republican House speaker? - The Guardian US

Who is Mike Johnson, the new Republican House speaker?.

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

Republicans Elect Mike Johnson as House Speaker, Ending Party Chaos

"The people's House is back in business," Johnson told colleagues before being sworn in. Learn more about the current House leadership and the history of the Speaker of the House by visiting the House History, Art, and Archives website. On October 25, 2023, Congressman Mike Johnson (LA-04) was elected as the Speaker of the House. As a Congressman, Speaker Johnson represents the northwest and western regions of Louisiana. Prior to his election to Congress in 2016, Speaker Johnson was an attorney and served in the Louisiana State Legislature from 2015 to 2017.

"Our mission here is to serve you well, to restore the people's faith in this House in this great and essential institution." "The challenge before us is great, but the time for action is now and I will not let you down," Johnson said. By the same token, Mr. Biden noted that the nation expects House Republicans to work across the aisle with him and Senate Democrats to address "urgent" national security needs and grow the economy. 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. 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.

Johnson has a spotless history of voting against legal abortion, earning an "A+" rating from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. 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 voted this year in favor of the debt limit law negotiated by McCarthy and Biden.

House of Representatives and a Republican member of Congress proudly serving Louisiana’s Fourth District. On October 25, 2023, he was elected unanimously by his House Republican colleagues to serve as the Speaker. After a tenure of less than 6.8 years in the House, Mike was given the honor faster than any person in history except for Speaker John G. Carlisle in 1883, who had previously served for only 6.75 years. As a Member of Congress, he represents the nearly 760,000 residents of 16 parishes in the northwest and western regions of his state. He also served as a leader on the Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, the House Natural Resources Committee, and the House Armed Services Committee. He spent nearly 20 years successfully litigating high profile constitutional law cases in district and appellate courts nationwide, and previously served in the Louisiana Legislature ( ).

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. With less than seven years under his belt, Johnson has a shorter length of service in the House than past speakers in modern history.

But hours after Emmer won the nod in a closed-door vote by the conference Tuesday morning, the former president lambasted the Minnesota Republican, writing on Truth Social that "voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake." Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, who voted for Majority Leader Steve Scalise on each of the three ballots during House voting last week, said he plans to back Johnson when the lower chamber convenes to elect a new speaker. But last month, he voted for a Rep. Matt Gaetz amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have cut off all security assistance for Ukraine. That amendment failed, , with a majority of Republicans voting against the amendment.