JUST IN: Rep Mike Johnson voted new House speaker
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Of course, any spending bills would require passage in the Democratic-controlled Senate and President Biden's signature, and drastic Republican-backed spending cuts would be dead on arrival. His plan envisions beginning negotiations on spending in October, and acknowledges they could continue until April. Johnson prevailed after a chaotic process that saw three other GOP nominees fail to unite the party and secure a majority. He won 220 to 209 in the House vote on Wednesday with unanimous support among Republicans, who enjoy a slim majority in the chamber. When asked about the 2020 election at a news conference after he was nominated for speaker Tuesday night, Johnson declined to answer. Johnson is close to Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, who strategized with Trump on how to overturn his presidential defeat and lost his own bid for speaker earlier this week after moderates in the conference revolted.
What comes next after Johnson's election
The House is now voting to pass a resolution in support of Israel in the war against Hamas – the first measure to come to the floor to be passed after Speaker Mike Johnson was elected this morning following three weeks of a speakerless-House. The House passed a resolution in support of Israel in the war against Hamas – the first measure to come to the floor after Speaker Mike Johnson was elected earlier Wednesday following three weeks without a speaker. Johnson said his first priority would be to pass a resolution denouncing Hamas for the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel that left more than 1,400 people dead. Israel is said to be preparing for a ground offensive in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, and lawmakers have been anxious to show support for the key U.S. ally as the speaker's fight dragged on. Johnson proposed taking up individual bills between now and Nov. 17, when current funding expires.
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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. On Tuesday night, after he was nominated, Johnson declined to respond to a question about his role in the election objections. Trump lashed out at Emmer after he won the nomination, accusing him of being out of touch with GOP voters and calling a vote for him a "tragic mistake."
JUST IN: Rep. Mike Johnson voted new House speaker
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. Trump seemed to acknowledge his role in killing Emmer's quest for the gavel, as he shared on his social media platform an article from Politico about how the former president "torpedoed" the bid. The former president noted that all of them have supported him "in both mind and spirit" since he won the White House in 2016 and said the five candidates "are beyond reproach and represent the absolute best there is in the Republican Party."
GOP lawmakers who withheld their support for Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio during his three rounds of voting on the House floor are beginning to line up behind Johnson. 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. "House Democrats believe that when members of the body voted to reject the results of the 2020 election, they forfeited their ability to lead this chamber," Aguilar said. "I know that in your heart you love and care about this country and you want to do what's right and so we're going to find common ground," Johnson said.
The consideration of individual spending bills was one of the demands made by GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and other who rebelled against McCarthy when he endorsed a temporary extension of government funding. Across the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters he looks forward to sitting down with Johnson and finding a bipartisan way to avoid a shutdown before government funding expires in mid-November. "We need to move swiftly to address our national security needs and to avoid a shutdown in 22 days. Even though we have real disagreements about important issues, there should be mutual effort to find common ground wherever we can," the president said. "This is a time for all of us to act responsibly, and to put the good of the American people and the everyday priorities of American families above any partisanship." Johnson now faces a daunting list of challenges, with a fast-approaching government shutdown chief among them. 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.
At Columbia, Speaker Johnson booed and heckled, calls on its president to resign if she can't 'bring order' to protests - ABC News
At Columbia, Speaker Johnson booed and heckled, calls on its president to resign if she can't 'bring order' to protests.
Posted: Wed, 24 Apr 2024 23:37:30 GMT [source]
In July, the House passed its version of the must-pass defense policy bill, which included a number of conservative policy priorities on abortion, health coverage for transgender service members, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The White House has requested an emergency aid package worth $106 billion, which would include $14 billion in aid to Israel. The administration also wants $61 billion to fund further aid to Ukraine and replenish U.S. stockpiles of weapons and ammunition. That has already emerged as a sticking point with some Republicans who want to consider aid to Israel separately. The House moved quickly to take up the resolution, scheduling a vote on the measure for Wednesday afternoon. An active member of the House Judiciary Committee, Johnson gained some notice as one of the leading Republican questioners of witnesses during Trump’s first impeachment in 2019.
Jeffries: Democrats will continue finding common ground with GOP "whenever and wherever possible"
Trump ally Mike Johnson elected House speaker three weeks after McCarthy ouster - CNN
Trump ally Mike Johnson elected House speaker three weeks after McCarthy ouster.
Posted: Wed, 25 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
"Our mission here is to serve you well, to restore the people's faith in this House in this great and essential institution." 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. It will need to come up as a suspension vote — an expedited process that requires a two-thirds majority for passage. This marks a clear departure from how those same members viewed former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s decision earlier this month to put a short-term spending bill on the floor, which ultimately led to his ouster. After three weeks without a speaker, the House voted Wednesday to elect Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
House conservatives signal they'll give Johnson more runway on spending bills
He voted against bipartisan legislation to codify same-sex marriage, which Biden signed into law last year. In Biden’s first two years, Johnson voted against a slew of bipartisan bills — including one to establish a Jan. 6 independent commission, the infrastructure law, reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, a modest new gun law and the CHIPS and Science Act. "I made my decision based on my relationship with the conference," Emmer told reporters when asked whether Trump helped doom his candidacy.
She said that as vice chair of the Republican Conference, Johnson has "united all of our members to speak clearly and boldly on behalf of the American people." Johnson won the speaker's gavel in a single round of voting, with the support of all Republicans in attendance. In a press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House, President Biden welcomed news of Johnson's election. "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. Johnson has laid out a tentative legislative schedule to approve new spending and take up other pieces of legislation, but things could change quickly as he confronts the realities of governing, especially given the fractious nature of the Republican conference. 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.
"Therefore, the Honorable Mike Johnson of the state of Louisiana, having received a majority of the votes cast, is duly elected speaker of the House of Representatives for the 118th Congress," McHenry, the interim speaker, announced after reading the final vote tally. "From the very beginning of this Congress, House Democrats have been governing for the people," Jeffries said. "We continue to look forward to finding bipartisan common ground whenever and wherever possible." Johnson was sworn in as the 56th House speaker soon after winning the vote and delivering a speech to lawmakers in the House chamber. Mr. Biden spoke to Johnson on the phone a short time later, the White House said, to offer his congratulations and express "that he looks forward to working together to find common ground on behalf of the American people."
McCaul's measure goes on to declare that the House "stands ready to assist Israel with emergency resupply and other security, diplomatic and intelligence support." Jeffries, the Democratic leader, presented him with the gavel, calling him a "family man, a hardworking man, a Baptist man, a Southern man, a son of a firefighter's household." Johnson listed a number of his priorities, including border security, cutting federal spending and establishing a bipartisan debt commission "immediately." "I think all the American people at one time had great pride in this institution, but right now that's in jeopardy," he said.
The new speaker has been in Congress since 2017 and has no experience in the House leadership. 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. Speaking to the chamber after his election, Johnson said the U.S. must rein in government spending and address the growing national debt, which he called "the greatest threat to our national security." Johnson sent a letter to his colleagues on Monday laying out a tentative schedule for how he would approach the next several months' worth of House business. He endorsed a plan to bring up 12 individual spending bills, rather than a single massive piece of legislation to fund executive branch departments.
The Senate passed its own version shortly after the House acted, and members from both chambers are now working to reconcile the two versions and craft a consensus bill. The House and Senate Committees on Agriculture have been holding field hearings, and the Republican and Democratic leaders of those panels met with Mr. Biden in May to discuss the importance of passing the legislation this year. He has received more campaign money from that industry during his seven years in Congress than any other and, like many of his GOP colleagues, has repeatedly downplayed climate change. Free from the political baggage that can come with a higher profile, the affable Johnson, 51, promises to restore faith in Congress as he assumes the speakership under remarkable circumstances.
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