Spectacular promotion by "God's will", not enough time for "honeymoon"

New US House Speaker Mike Johnson is a quiet name but has shined at the right time when the US House of Representatives has been exhausted for many weeks to find a worthy candidate for this important position.

Những thách thức đón chờ tân Chủ tịch Hạ viện Mỹ Mike Johnson

New US House Speaker Mike Johnson. (Source: AP)

The surprise emergence of new House Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican) marks the end of weeks of turmoil in the House and the Republican Conference (US).

After bitter battles that eliminated three other nominees for Speaker, Republicans in the legislature saw Mike Johnson as the conservative constitutionalist with a dash of Southern charisma they needed to end the chaos in time, giving the Louisiana congressman unanimous support in the GOP.

But even as the party's biggest internal crisis has ended, the House and Republicans still face immediate challenges over government spending and aid to Israel and Ukraine in conflict.

Last minute surprise factor

Mr. Johnson's election as Speaker of the House of Representatives was a remarkable rise for the Republican congressman from Louisiana, taking him from a relatively modest position to an important figure, second only to the President.

Mr. Johnson, first elected to the US House of Representatives in the 2016 election, served as Vice Chairman of the Republican Study Committee (the right-wing group of Republicans) in the House before being elected to lead this legislative body.

The mild-mannered congressman has kept a low profile during his seven years in the House. He has never chaired a committee, focusing his work on the House Judiciary and Armed Services committees.

So one of Mr Johnson's first challenges as House speaker will be to lead the Republican conference and work with the Senate to prevent a government shutdown that is set to begin next month.

Several senators said they knew little about the new House speaker. “I don’t know him at all,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). “In fact, I just heard his name for the first time this week.”

Perhaps fatigue among House Republicans after three weeks of deadlock over the House leadership election, with four candidates competing for the job, may have contributed to the party’s lawmakers’ unanimous support for Johnson, an extremely rare occurrence for a contentious conference.

For House Republicans, Mr. Johnson scored high on loyalty while the three previous nominees, despite having extensive political leadership experience and impressive resumes, failed.

He is the former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative group in the House. Former President Donald Trump – who helped disqualify Tom Emmer for allegedly lacking loyalty – endorsed Johnson on the social network Truth.

Mr. Johnson is said to be one of Mr. Trump's key associates, having led the team advising the Republican Party on arguments to challenge the 2020 election results in key states.

A busy agenda

Government funding will run out on November 17, reigniting the debate that has dominated Republican meetings for the past year. Former House Speaker McCarthy was ousted in part because of his decision to pass a stopgap proposal to fund the government until November 17 and prevent a government shutdown.

New House Speaker Johnson has proposed a stopgap measure for next year to avoid an omnibus budget bill — but there’s no guarantee it will go smoothly. “Whether it’s tactical or a gamble,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said of a stopgap fiscal solution.

Still, the new House Speaker may have some time to enjoy his honeymoon. “Don’t blame the quarterback for the failures of the player who just left the field,” said Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus.

Aside from the financial issue, aid to Ukraine is a big question. Last week, the White House announced a request for about $100 billion in emergency funding, the bulk of which — about $61 billion — would be used to support Ukraine as its conflict with Russia drags on.

Clearly, the House’s handling of the supplemental budget request — particularly regarding Ukraine — poses difficult questions for Mr. Johnson, as the House Republican conference has grown increasingly skeptical about sending more aid to Kiev.

Johnson himself has been controversial in his support for Ukraine. He supported the Ukraine Defense of Democracies Lend/Lease Act of 2022, but last month he voted against sending $300 million in additional aid to Ukraine.

He supported an amendment to the defense appropriations bill introduced last month that called for a ban on security assistance to Ukraine. Many Republicans opposed the $300 million aid package to Kiev, a sign of the House GOP conference’s lack of enthusiasm for Ukraine aid.

When it comes to US elections, one of the key roles of the Speaker of the House is to be the party’s chief fundraiser, and Mr Johnson, who is not a household name, is playing that role. His committee raised $553,013 in the first six months of the year.

Mr Johnson has pledged to create a commission to examine the national debt, which could open the door to attacks from the Democratic campaign if it backs down on proposals to reform social welfare programmes such as Social Security and Medicare.

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