Following 22 days of congressional gridlock, the U.S. House of Representatives has finally reached a decision: Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson will assume the role of Speaker of the House.
The resolution comes following the removal of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, after he compromised on a deal with House Democrats in efforts to avoid a government shutdown. A small group of Republicans, headed by Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, ousted McCarthy under suspicions that he had been coordinating with Democrats to move policy on key issues. Gaetz claimed such actions constituted disloyalty to the Republican party, and thus justified grounds for removal.
Over the past 28 days, a host of names have been mentioned in conversation of who is best fit to take on McCarthy’s former role. Among those mentioned, notable candidates included Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. However, neither of the three were able to win their own elections for speaker, after being nominated; Representative Johnson had been the first candidate following McCarthy’s departure to prove successful in obtaining votes from both sides of a divided Republican House, in order to become House Speaker.
Vanderbilt University Professor of Political Science, Dr. Thomas Schwartz, outlined McCarthy’s removal and the race for speakership in an interview with News5 Nashville. He sees such an unconventional event to be the result of Republicans’ own lack of concern on reelection, noting that Representative’s like Matt Gaetz have been empowered with the freedom to act irresponsibly. Shwartz stated, “the party is substantially disrupted by the presence and activities of Donald Trump,” which is seen within the various factions of the Republican party all vying for different house leadership. Johnson’s victory appears to be a win not only for himself, but for the traditionalist conservatives of the GOP.
Johnson has served in Congress since 2017, representing Louisiana’s 4th district. He has maintained a relatively low-profile, remaining widely unnoticed up until his election to the Speakership. The 51-year-old Republican has been a close ally to Former President Donald Trump, working on Trump’s legal defense team during his two Senate impeachment trials. He adamantly opposed certification of the 2020 election results, claiming that every legal remedy must be exhausted “to restore Americans’ trust in the fairness of our election system,” following the declaration of Biden’s victory. More so, Johnson stood on the front lines of Republican legislators who filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court claiming the loosened voting restrictions in swing states, due to the pandemic, had deprived state legislatures of their constitutional authority. Among other aspects of his background, Johnson appears to embrace conservative tradition; he supported the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and introduced 2022 legislation that aimed to prohibit discussion of sexual orientation and identity at any federally funded institutions.
Mixed views of Johnson’s speakership have emerged among lawmakers. More conservative members of the Republican party, like Representative Gaetz, deem Johnson’s election as a win, and an indicator of the Republican party’s future. In a conversation with Steve Bannon, Gaetz stated, “If you don’t think that moving from Kevin McCarthy to MAGA Mike Johnson shows the ascendance of this movement and where the power of the Republican Party truly lies, then you’re not paying attention.” Democrats such as Virginia Representative Don Beyer see the new speaker as leading the country in the wrong direction, claiming Johnson to be “one of the biggest anti-choice extremists in Congress.”
Johnson’s speakership comes at a critical moment, as government funding, international aid to Ukraine and the Middle East, and as legislation on key social issues all hang in the balance. As Johnson begins to move forward with his new role, the upcoming weeks will be telling of the legacy he will leave.
