Republican Mike Johnson, representative of Louisiana’s fourth district, was elected leader of the House of Representatives this Wednesday after three weeks of chaos in the US Congress.
Johnson, elected unanimously by all Republicans present, said that the first bill he will propose will be in support of “our dear friend Israel,” which he characterized as his greatest ally in the Middle East.
“We are willing to go back to work and solve people’s problems,” said the new leader in his first speech after the elections.
“We are going to regain people’s trust in this chamber,” he noted.
Mike Johnson pledged to “decentralize power” in the House and work with Democrats to find common ground and possible consensus.
But the new president also issued a statement promising that the Republican majority “will advance a comprehensive conservative political agenda, combat the Biden administration’s harmful policies, and support America’s international allies.”
Johnson received 220 votes, uniting the various factions that until now had not been available to support a single candidate before the historic impeachment of Kevin McCarthy in early October.
The congressman will lead a short majority in a divided chamber, with 221 Republicans and 214 Democrats, and must resolve the problem of the temporary budget, which expires on November 17.
Democratic presidential candidate Hakeem Jeffries received 209 votes. The Democratic minority leader said it was time to “end the games” and get back to work in the House of Representatives.
Aligned with the most conservative wing of the Republican majority, the new leader, 51, is considered a fierce ally of Donald Trump. He led the initiative signed by more than 100 Republican congressmen in support of the Texas lawsuit that sought to reverse Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 and defended the former president during the impeachment.
The New York Times described him, in 2022, as “the most important architect of objections to the Electoral College.”
Reacting to the election of Mike Johnson, President Joe Biden said he was not concerned about the possibility that the new president would try to block his certification if he is re-elected in 2024.
“No, because it can’t be done,” Biden told reporters. “I know how the Constitution works.”
Despite his role in the 2020 election aftermath, Johnson did not gain national prominence, unlike previous candidate Jim Jordan, which may have helped him achieve unanimity among Republicans.
In social matters, Johnson is more conservative than Kevin McCarthy but has not created antibodies among moderates, being considered less caustic and antagonistic.
Although he is not part of the radical Freedom Caucus, he defends a strict restriction on the right to abortion, the protection of people who discriminate against members of the LGBTQI+ community and has presented a bill that prohibits discussion of sexual identity or orientation in the field federal. funded institutions.
Johnson was the fourth nominee for the position after the failure of Jim Jordan and the withdrawals of Steve Scalise and Tom Emmer, the latter after Trump spoke out against him. Emmer was one of the congressmen who agreed to certify Joe Biden’s election in 2021.
Faced with the threat of a federal government shutdown in November, Mike Johnson will have to align congressmen on financial aid packages for Ukraine and Israel, both involved in wars with no end in sight.
He is deputy Republican majority leader and a member of the Judiciary Committee and the Armed Services Committee.
Source: TSF
