Trump-backed Mike Johnson elected House speaker after 22 days - live
New Speaker Mike Johnson is a hard-right Christian conservative opposed to LGBT+ and reproductive rights
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House Republicans overwhelmingly elected Rep Mike Johnson (R-LA) to be the next speaker of the House after 22 days where the House of Representatives had no leader amid turmoil across the globe and the need to pass spending bills next month.
Mr Johnson, the former deputy whip for House Republicans, won 220 votes on the floor after House Republicans coalesced around him on Tuesday evening. His ascent came after House Majority Whip Tom Emmer dropped out a mere four hours after the House Republican conference nominated him to be speaker.
Republicans from all factions of the conference cheered Mr Johnson and whistled on the floor, chanting his name.
After conservatives, led by former president Donald Trump, revolted against Mr Emmer, he removed himself from the running and after another contest, Mr Johnson emerged victorious.
A former attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom, Mr Johnson is considered an arch-social conservative staunchly opposed to abortion. Earlier this year, he introduced legislation that would have made it illegal to transport a person under the age of 18 across state lines to obtain an abortion without parental notification.
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On Tuesday, as Republicans convened for a round of votes to pick their next nominee for speaker, Rep Jared Moskowitz, an outspoken Democrat from Florida, passed by the conclave. One reporter asked if he was running for speaker and he joked that he might be able to get some votes.
Within hours, the House GOP nominated Majority Whip Tom Emmer only for him to face a revolt and summarily drop out.
But joking aside, Mr Moskowitz, who has also criticised the White House for not condemning antisemitism forcefully enough, told The Independent that the inability of the House to act on providing aid to Israel or Ukraine could hurt America from a national security standpoint.
“If the Senate sends over the package, and we don’t have a speaker and our number one ally is not able to get the help that they need in their time of crisis, it’s definitely a national security issue,” Mr Moskowitz said.
Earlier this year, Democrats roundly mocked Republicans for their inability to make Kevin McCarthy speaker of the House, even bringing in popcorn. But on Tuesday, officially three weeks since they joined eight Republicans led by Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to depose Mr McCarthy, they are exasperated at the inability to get work done.
VIDEO: Republicans nominate Mike Johnson in fourth attempt to fill speaker’s chair
Trump congratulates speaker nominee Mike Johnson after slamming Emmer
Donald Trump congratulated Rep Mike Johnson (R-LA) after he became the fourth Republican nominee for speaker in three weeks following the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
Mr Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday morning, just a day after he helped end the speakership bid of Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) after just a few hours following his nomination earlier on Tuesday.
“Congratulations to Congressional Republicans! Yesterday was a big and very important day. It gave us a quick and easy way forward with 5 candidates who are beyond reproach, and represent the absolute best there is in the Republican Party,” Mr Trump wrote.
“Even the Fake News Media is impressed with what took place yesterday and, more importantly, with the Candidates themselves. Congratulations to Reps. Byron Donalds (Florida), Charles J. ‘Chuck’ Fleischmann (Tennessee), Mark Green (Tennessee), & Roger Williams (Texas), & the ultimate winner of yesterday’s vote, by a significant margin, Mike Johnson (Louisiana),” he added.
‘Johnson was deeply involved in efforts to keep Trump in power'
Robert Costa of CBS News wrote on X on Wednesday that “Johnson was deeply involved in efforts to keep Trump in power starting immediately after 2020 election. … I know because I spent months reporting on that period and he was part of letters and behind-scenes efforts with key outside groups”.
“I’ve talked with key sources from that time about how Johnson — then all but unknown — worked with allied Trump groups and conservative leaders in a coordinated way to make sure that whole orbit was working together to help Trump,” Mr Costa added.
Who is Mike Johnson? The latest GOP House speaker nominee
Rep Mike Johnson has become the latest lawmaker to secure the GOP nomination for the next House speaker, following a disastrous three weeks in the lower chamber.
The Louisiana congressman was picked by his party on Tuesday night, just hours after the third nominee Tom Emmer abruptly pulled out.
Mr Johnson is now the fourth GOP nominee in just two weeks, coming after Mr Emmer, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan.
With just 128 votes in a secret closed-door session, he – like the previous three nominees – still has a major uphill battle to secure the 217 votes needed to take the gavel.
Speaking to reporters after he secured the nomination, Mr Johnson brushed off the chaos as Republicans clamour to find a new speaker.
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Who is Mike Johnson? The latest GOP House speaker nominee
Rep Mike Johnson has become the latest lawmaker to secure the GOP nomination for the next House speaker, following a disastrous three weeks in the lower chamber.
The Louisiana congressman was picked by his party on Tuesday night, just hours after the third nominee Tom Emmer abruptly pulled out.
Mr Johnson is now the fourth GOP nominee in just two weeks, coming after Mr Emmer, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan.
With just 128 votes in a secret closed-door session, he – like the previous three nominees – still has a major uphill battle to secure the 217 votes needed to take the gavel.
Speaking to reporters after he secured the nomination, Mr Johnson brushed off the chaos as Republicans clamour to find a new speaker.
George Santos mocked for bizarre pitch in House speaker race
Social media users are not reacting to New York Rep George Santos’ poll the way he probably intended, after he asked the X community whether he should be the next House Speaker.
Mr Santos simply asked on Tuesday, “Santos for Speaker?” on the same day that fellow Republican Rep Tom Emmer dropped out of the race after being nominated by the House GOP Conference. The two options Mr Santos put forward were “yes” and “yes.” He was quickly mocked by X users.
One user commented: “You’re getting paid 174k of our tax dollars for this? You’re now trolling the people who pay your salary.”
Another user jokingly provided other potential poll responses, including, “no”, “hell no”, and “[are you f***ing kidding me] no.”
Someone else opined, “This poll is an illustration as to how politicians would like elections to be run.”
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