Republican Mike Johnson was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives on October 25, defeating Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries by a vote of 220-209. No Democratic senator voted for Johnson, who became the 56th Speaker of the House in US history, according to The Hill .
Mr. Mike Johnson at the US House of Representatives on October 25
"We are in the majority. We have gone through a brief period of character building and that has brought strength, perseverance and a lot of hope. And that is what we will bring to the American people," Mr. Johnson said after his election.
With a leader in place, the House can now tackle a number of challenging legislative issues in the coming months. Among them, the House and Senate must work quickly to pass government spending bills before the November 17 deadline to avoid a shutdown. The White House has also asked Congress to approve more than $100 billion in additional security aid for Israel and Ukraine.
"We want our allies around the world to know that this legislature is back in business," Mr Johnson said.
Since McCarthy was fired on October 3, Republicans have nominated three replacements, but none have garnered enough support: Steve Scalise, Jim Jordan and Tom Emmer. Johnson was finally chosen by consensus after Republicans ran out of options.
According to The Hill , Mr. Johnson has a conservative voting record, has no major rivals and is widely considered friendly. He has held several leadership roles for the Republican Party in the House of Representatives and is currently a member of the judiciary and armed services committees. He previously served as a member of the Louisiana state legislature, worked as a lawyer, a news anchor and a college professor before being elected to Congress in 2017.
Mr. Johnson is said to be one of the main figures supporting former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Mr. Jeffries of the Democratic Party said that Mr. Johnson also wants to end benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
Mr. Johnson was also an opponent of security aid to Ukraine, having voted against the aid bill in May 2022. "We should not be sending another $40 billion overseas without adequate oversight of where that money goes, when our borders are in chaos, American mothers are struggling to find formula for their babies, gas prices are at record highs, and families are struggling to make ends meet," Mr. Johnson said at the time.
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