Mike Johnson met with boos amid Columbia visit over student protests

Table Of Content

• Johnson says he's never voted against Ukraine aid. That's not what his record says.
• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says Speaker Mike Johnson should resign as Democrats signal potential support
• Calmes: Could Jim Jordan do anything other than tear government apart?
• House conservatives signal they'll give Johnson more runway on spending bills
• Tom Emmer won nomination only to drop out after opposition by Trump and far right
• California holds the key to GOP power in the House. McCarthy’s retirement makes everything harder

"House Democrats believe that when members of the body voted to reject the results of the 2020 election, they forfeited their ability to lead this chamber," Aguilar said. Johnson won the speaker's gavel in a single round of voting, with the support of all Republicans in attendance. In a press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House, President Biden welcomed news of Johnson's election. Jeffries, the Democratic leader, presented him with the gavel, calling him a "family man, a hardworking man, a Baptist man, a Southern man, a son of a firefighter's household." Johnson was sworn in as the 56th House speaker soon after winning the vote and delivering a speech to lawmakers in the House chamber. "We're going to dispense with all the usual ceremonies and celebrations that traditionally follow a new speakership because we have no time for either one," Johnson said.

Seeking 'the right side of history,' Speaker Mike Johnson risks his job to deliver aid to Ukraine - The Associated Press

Seeking 'the right side of history,' Speaker Mike Johnson risks his job to deliver aid to Ukraine.

Posted: Fri, 19 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Johnson says he's never voted against Ukraine aid. That's not what his record says.

With one of the most narrow House majorities in modern times, Johnson can only afford to lose a single vote or two from his Republican ranks to pass any bill. That dynamic has thrust him into the arms of Democrats as he searches for votes to pass the package. Greene could launch a bid to evict Johnson from the speaker’s office, should she call it up for a vote, much the way Republicans booted Kevin McCarthy from the position last fall. Jeffries, the Democratic leader, remained noncommittal to helping Johnson keep the speaker’s gavel. Greene has filed a “motion to vacate” the speaker from office, and it drew another supporter Friday as Rep. Paul Gosar, an Arizona Republican, co-sponsored the motion.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says Speaker Mike Johnson should resign as Democrats signal potential support

As Congress sat idle, the Republicans spent a second day behind closed doors, arguing and airing grievances but failing to follow their own party rules and unite behind the nominee. Rank-and-file Republicans left Thursday night’s meeting angry, overwhelmed and with their heads spinning about what to do next. Attention now focuses on Jordan and his backers instantly revived calls for party members to get behind the Ohio Republican, who is a founding leader of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus. The situation is not fully different from the start of the year, when McCarthy faced a similar backlash from a different group of far-right holdouts who ultimately gave their votes to elect him speaker, then engineered his historic downfall.

Calmes: Could Jim Jordan do anything other than tear government apart?

Two seats are vacant due to the resignations of Reps. Chris Stewart, a Republican from Utah, and David Cicilline, a Democrat from Rhode Island. But last month, he voted for a Rep. Matt Gaetz amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have cut off all security assistance for Ukraine. That amendment failed, , with a majority of Republicans voting against the amendment.

The school also announced it would start a hybrid learning model for the rest of the year. On Friday, Oct. 20, House Republicans voted to drop Rep. Jim Jordan as their nominee after he failed to win a majority on the House floor three times in a week, losing successively more Republicans in each round. Eighty-six Republicans said Jordan should stay in the race, and 112 said he shouldn't, according to lawmakers who were in the room. Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, who ran for speaker as a protest candidate against Jordan in the House GOP conference, also voted to certify the 2020 election. After the Republican conference meeting ended, Johnson spoke briefly to reporters and said that his intention is to go the House floor Wednesday for a noon vote.

House to take up resolution declaring support for Israel

Mike Johnson's evolution on Ukraine aid as House speaker - The Washington Post - The Washington Post

Mike Johnson's evolution on Ukraine aid as House speaker - The Washington Post.

Posted: Sun, 21 Apr 2024 15:51:00 GMT [source]

In a secret-ballot vote on Tuesday night, Mr. Johnson got 128 votes, with 44 Republicans voting for nominees not on the ballot, including 43 for Mr. McCarthy, whom many view as unfairly ousted. Still, in a separate vote afterward, only a few Republicans indicated they would not back Mr. Johnson on the floor, while about 20 Republicans were absent. Palmer previously supported Jordan to serve as speaker, but in the wake of McCarthy's ouster, he also immediately called on Republicans as a whole to come together. At the time, he shared in a post on X "We have a job to do for the American people, and they deserve a unified majority focused on what's best for the nation."

Boehner worked hard to fashion budget deals with both a Democratic President Barack Obama and a Democratic Senate. But his efforts alienated some in his own ranks who in 2015 formed an insurgent group known as the House Freedom Caucus. Increasingly exasperated with his untenable predicament, Boehner simply resigned in October of that year. In 1994, two years into the presidency of Democrat Bill Clinton, Gingrich organized a campaign around a 10-item agenda called the "Contract with America." It provided a unified message for the party's nominees, who flipped more than 50 seats and stormed into the majority. The 30-year saga began with Gingrich of Georgia, who was the first member of his party to gain "the big gavel" since the early 1950s and the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Petition Blasts Mike Johnson Over Christian Nationalist Chaplain Appearance

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told NBC News that he would be willing to work with Democrats to elect a moderate Republican to the speakership if his party can’t coalesce behind a candidate. Since then, McCarthy has worked to win over his party’s most conservative factions, including supporters of former President Trump. Even if he wins the top job when the new House convenes in January and elects a speaker, McCarthy faces a difficult road in corralling the party’s factions. Emmer, who was first elected to Congress in 2014, has the endorsement of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted from the speakership almost three weeks ago. Rep. Tom Emmer has dropped out of the race for speaker, mere hours after Republicans elected him as the GOP nominee, according to several House Republicans. House Republicans are expected to vote within their conference for a new speaker nominee this evening.

California holds the key to GOP power in the House. McCarthy’s retirement makes everything harder

But the blot won’t go away for members of California’s GOP delegation, who lashed themselves even closer Wednesday to Jordan’s sinking ship. Instead of a one-off, Jan. 6 might just be a bad taste of things to come, with the peaceful transfer of power — the foundation of our election system and an exemplar to the world — becoming just another artifact of a political time gone by. Anyone arrogant enough to substitute his preference for the expressed will of voters and reckless enough to promote such blatant lies should come nowhere close to the power of the speakership. Many Republicans want to prevent the spectacle of a messy House floor fight like the grueling January brawl when McCarthy became speaker. Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, reaffirmed his support for Trump as speaker; the position does not need to go to a member of Congress. Some Republicans proposed simply giving Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., who was appointed interim speaker pro tempore, greater authority to lead the House for some time.

"We continue to look forward to finding bipartisan common ground whenever and wherever possible." McCaul's measure goes on to declare that the House "stands ready to assist Israel with emergency resupply and other security, diplomatic and intelligence support." Johnson listed a number of his priorities, including border security, cutting federal spending and establishing a bipartisan debt commission "immediately." Johnson also acknowledged that the chaos of the last three weeks has chipped away at Americans' confidence in the lower chamber. "Our mission here is to serve you well, to restore the people's faith in this House in this great and essential institution."

Mr. Johnson instead faulted the way some states had changed voting procedures during the pandemic, saying it was unconstitutional. No credible evidence has ever emerged to support the conspiracy theories about Dominion and another voting machine firm having helped to ensure Mr. Trump’s defeat. In April, Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle a defamation suit by Dominion over reports broadcast by Fox that Dominion machines were susceptible to hacking and had flipped votes from Mr. Trump to Mr. Biden. “We are unified and so proud to have elected Mike Johnson as speaker of the People’s House,” Elise Stefanik says to kick off a news conference on the Capitol steps. Mainstream conservatives who backed Mr. Johnson said they hoped to quickly move to pull the House out of its funk.

When the House returns from its recess next week, Speaker Mike Johnson is now widely expected to resume his duties without immediately facing a motion to oust him. And there has been all sorts of faux urgency about the need to elect a speaker so the House, leaderless since McCarthy’s defenestration, can get back to business. In recent days there has been lots of talk among Jordan supporters of being “team players,” as if partisan loyalty trumps (forgive the pun) what is best for the country. McCarthy’s ouster from a job he long coveted was induced by far-right Republicans with the support of vengeance-minded Democrats. It’s unlikely that McCarthy — should he seek reelection in 2024 — Issa, LaMalfa, McClintock or Obernolte will be defeated. Republicans can do right by snuffing Jordan’s bid for speaker and finding a better alternative.

The House elects a new speaker by roll call vote when it first convenes after a general election for its two-year term, or when a speaker dies, resigns or is removed from the position intra-term. After Emmer's withdrawal, the Republican conference hastily announced a new speaker election for Tuesday evening. Late that evening, Rep. Mike Johnson, a four-term House member, won the nomination and   went on to win the speakership Wednesday with the support of all 220 Republicans in attendance, surpassing the 215-vote total required to win.

But voters in exit polls indicated other issues like abortion rights and protecting democracy factored into their decisions at the ballot box. Redistricting in New York and Florida also helped the GOP overcome lackluster results in most of the races rated as toss-ups. Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the majority whip and the highest ranking Republican running for speaker, is one of the two who voted to certify the 2020 presidential election on Jan. 6. Emmer, the majority whip, is one of the two speaker candidates who voted to certify the 2020 presidential election results. Earlier Tuesday night, Ohio Rep. Max Miller suggested there was growing support for restoring McCarthy to the speakership.