Republicans in Congress chose Louisiana’s Mike Johnson as their new candidate for leadership of the House of Representatives in an effort to end a political crisis on Capitol Hill.
Republican Representative Elise Stefanik announced Wednesday evening that 51-year-old Johnson won an internal vote. This will be the Republicans’ fourth attempt to obtain the 217 votes needed in the plenary to elect a president.
Hours earlier, the previous candidate, Tom Emmer (62), from the state of Minnesota, had abruptly withdrawn after negative reactions from the right, including former President Donald Trump.
After Emmer’s nomination, about two dozen right-wing Republicans indicated they would not vote for him, depriving him of the majority he needed to lead the House of Representatives.
Donald Trump later issued a scathing statement on social media, expressing his vehement opposition to Emmer and accusing him of being “a Republican in name only.”
In the final internal voting round, Emmer had prevailed over Mike Johnson, winning by 117 votes to 97.
Johnson, a lawyer specializing in constitutional issues, led Republicans around Trump’s legal efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
Johnson is the fourth Republican chosen to lead the party this month, following the censure motion filed by radical members close to Trump that led to the ouster of then-leader Kevin McCarthy three weeks ago.
The interim chairmanship of the House of Representatives is currently held by Patrick McHenry, but until a new leader is elected, no new resolutions or bills can be passed.
The House is also prevented from passing resolutions that could help regulate economic policy, especially when it comes to combating the effects of inflation, which is still at high levels.
Externally, the absence of a leader also prevents the approval of spending on humanitarian and military aid in external conflicts, such as those occurring in Ukraine (where the United States is the largest donor) and, more recently, in the Middle East, after ally Israel declared war on the Islamist group Hamas.
Source: DN
