by Alexis Simendinger & Kristina Karisch
The House has a Speaker again.
After three weeks of uncertainty, the House elected Mike Johnson (R-La.) to be the 56th Speaker on Wednesday, capping off a chaotic period that paralyzed the lower chamber in stunning fashion. House Republicans hope that Johnson can steer them around a series of legislative and political landmines in the weeks and months to come — an objective that is poised to be a heavy lift in the fractured GOP conference.
A reminder: If Congress doesn’t pass a funding bill, the government will shut down on Nov. 17. (We who work can only hope and pray that happens)
Johnson’s ascension marks the end of a nasty and tumultuous period for the House GOP, which kicked off with former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) ouster, after which the conference cycled through four Speaker nominees and saw tensions reach a boiling point before ultimately settling on Johnson as the next leader (The Hill).
We’re in the majority right now,” Johnson said in a news conference on the House steps following his swearing-in. “We’ve gone through a little bit of character building, and you know what it’s produced, more strength, more perseverance, and a lot of hope. And that’s what we’re about to deliver to the American people.”
Staving off a shutdown will be the top priority for Johnson in the coming days and weeks, coupled with the White House’s proposed $100 billion national security supplemental to support Israel and Ukraine amid their respective conflicts.
For the Louisiana conservative, who formerly acted as vice chair of the Republican conference, the new post marks a rapid ascent in the Republican ranks. The relatively unknown legislator has been serving in Congress since 2017; he’s been known as a staunch conservative with a low profile. And while his anonymity in Washington was a driving force in his election as Speaker, his novice status won’t necessarily help him govern.
“Politics is like the fight business. The longer you’re in it, the more you get beat up,” Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told Politico, explaining Johnson’s survival.
- The Hill: Here are five things to know about Johnson.
- The New York Times: Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who serves on the Judiciary Committee alongside Johnson, is brutal in his evaluation of Johnson and Republicans more broadly, saying the new Speaker has “much better manners” than GOP firebrands but “is a MAGA extremist in substance.”
President Biden called Johnson on Wednesday afternoon to congratulate him on the election, and the president “expressed that he looks forward to working together to find common ground on behalf of the American people,” according to the White House. In a statement, Biden called on all elected officials in Washington to act responsibly and above partisanship.
“We need to move swiftly to address our national security needs and to avoid a shutdown in 22 days,” Biden said. “Even though we have real disagreements about important issues, there should be mutual effort to find common ground wherever we can.”
Reality check Johnson could soon face the decision of green lighting impeachment of the president.
- NBC News: Johnson played a key role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election. He led an amicus brief in support of a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory in four battleground states.
- The Hill: Biden says he’s not concerned Johnson might overturn the 2024 election results.
- The Hill: Democrats and abortion rights groups are already seizing on Johnson’s anti-abortion record and appear ready to use it as a cudgel against the GOP conference ahead of the 2024 elections.
- ABC News: How Johnson spent years fighting against LGBTQ+ rights.
Johnson is stepping into the Speaker’s role at a time where the Republican Conference is sharply divided and government funding is swiftly running out. The Hill’s Niall Stanage outlines the challenges the new Speaker will face, from passing spending bills to dealing with foreign aid to Israel and Ukraine.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), whose motion to vacate ousted McCarthy in the first place, on Wednesday seemed unconcerned by how Johnson might handle the upcoming Nov. 17 funding deadline, telling reporters: “Whether or not we have to have any sort of stopgap government bridge, I’m sure that’s something we’ll address in the coming days.”
Johnson is proposing a temporary funding patch lasting at least until Jan. 15, with little specifics. Such a stopgap would help to appease centrists, but its future — and viability as the House contends with tight deadlines — is unclear (Politico). In the chamber’s first move under Johnson, the House on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to pass a resolution declaring solidarity with Israel, pledging to give its government whatever security assistance it needs (The New York Times).
SENATE REPUBLICANS ARE RELIEVED the House has a Speaker again — they just don’t know much about him. While Herculean tasks await Johnson during his tenure, including working with the Senate to fund the government and on a supplemental aid package, getting to know his colleagues across the Capitol is now also firmly on the list. Most GOP senators indicated that they don’t know Johnson personally and still don’t even know much about him.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) acknowledged to The Hill that he has never met Johnson. Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, said that he doesn’t “know him very well” but “may have met him” in the past.
But senators, who by and large had grown increasingly concerned and desperate as the House sat in a stalemate, are mostly relieved to have someone running the chamber. And they are willing to give Johnson a chance.
“He seems to be a good pick. I’m all for him. Anybody that can get through,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters with a laugh, adding that he too does not know him well. “No, not much. Seems like a very capable fellow.”
Lawmakers, including Thune, were among more than 300 guests invited to the State Dinner Wednesday under a dazzling tent on the South Lawn — a chance for some subdued power-brokering and bipartisan socializing amid toasts to Australia and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. New Yorkers Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democrat Rep. Gregory Meeks were invited.
At the dinner, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) told pool reporter Judy Kurtz of The Hill that a House supplemental bill for national security assistance “will link the major threats in the world and that will be: Russia’s threat to Ukraine in Europe, China’s threat to the Pacific, the Ayatollah’s threat to the Middle East, and securing the border and keeping those threats out of the United States.” He encouraged Biden to work with Republicans. Former Armed Services Committee chairman Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) was invited to the dinner, plus Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin (D-Md.), ranking Foreign Relations member Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-R.I.). Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) was an invited guest and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) attended, recounting to a reporter how his Jewish parents managed to escape the Nazis.
