Mike Johnson received 220 votes to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ 209 votes.
The Republicans’ lengthy national nightmare has come to an end.
After three weeks of rage and fury, every Republican in the House rallied around Mike Johnson, a staunch Trump supporter from Louisiana. America now has a voice.
It was pure fatigue, in my opinion. The GOP needed to put a stop to the craziness. Some speaker, any speaker, was preferable than none.
While Johnson is clearly in the conservative side, he has yet to make many enemies in Congress.
It was simple to mock the House Republicans for their continued shambles, but there’s a deeper symbolism here as well.
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The media has had a field day labeling the three-week shambles a clown show – Republicans have used harsher language – that has immobilized the House. It was like two teenagers playing ping pong, each crushing the ball to prevent the other from winning.
Even after ousting Kevin McCarthy and knocking down Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan, the House GOP chose No. 3 official Tom Emmer as the future speaker–and he withdrew four hours later. This is unbelievable on fast-forward.
The distinction here is Donald Trump. Because Emmer committed the cardinal sin of voting to ratify Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, Trump labeled him a “Globalist RINO” and subsequently informed allies that he had “killed” his candidacy. (Some members also rejected Emmer’s position on same-sex marriage and aid to Ukraine.)
Johnson, on the other hand, not only helped lead the opposition to Biden’s nomination, but also served on Trump’s legal team during an impeachment trial. Trump also gave Johnson his blessing.
After Johnson won the secret ballot, there came a pivotal moment late Tuesday. An ABC reporter asked him a very reasonable inquiry regarding his belief that the last election was rigged. The gathering Republicans began booing – one woman yelled “shut up, shut up” – and Johnson did not respond to the question. He took no questions when he spoke outside the Capitol the next day.
Johnson rose to prominence so quickly that the media did not have time to vet him, but that is already underway. Just hours later, the New York Times headline read, “The Far Right Gets Its Man in the House.”
Daniel Webster, Jim Jordan, Mike Johnson, Marjorie Taylor Greene
Democrats pounced on the new speaker for his opposition to gay rights and help to Ukraine.
Republicans were acutely aware that they were embarrassing themselves for 21 days, but this isn’t just about petty feuds and infighting, such as Matt Gaetz’s personal vendetta against McCarthy.
Remember that McCarthy was fired for making a compromise with Democrats to avoid a debt-ceiling default, then again for passing a stopgap bill to avoid a government shutdown.
The hardliners demand larger cuts in spending, which is a completely acceptable position to pursue. The difficulty is that they are a minority within the GOP’s own branch of government.
They can’t do anything unless they collaborate with the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House. And if that means a government shutdown or default, so be it.
Hardliners, it appears, prefer deadlock to any semblance of compromise. Working with Democrats in any capacity is considered a betrayal. They did, however, have enough votes to prevent their party from doing anything as simple as picking a leader.
In sum, the rebels don’t appear to be interested in ruling.
Of course, both parties have its extremes. However, the Democrats appear to be better able to keep theirs at bay.
The moderate conservatives, frequently mocked as squishes, wield considerable power. They were desperate to keep any hardline right-winger out of the speaker’s chair, fearing that the lack of governing would cost them their seats. They decided, however, that Johnson was someone they could live with.
The path to political power no longer involves methodically ascending through the ranks of a political party. Aspiring MPs can raise a lot of money, get on TV, and become celebrities by conducting stunts, making controversial comments, and growing their social media following.
Johnson does not meet that description. One promising note: He mentioned yesterday organizing a bipartisan commission on budgetary issues, implying a readiness to collaborate with the opposing party.
