Congressman Mike Johnson, ally of former US President Donald Trump (2017-2021), was elected leader of the House of Representatives this Wednesday by managing to overcome the division of the Republican Party, which has caused parliamentary chaos in recent weeks.
Johnson was the fourth Republican nominated in two weeks, following Steve Scalise, Jim Jordan and Tom Emmer. to succeed fellow conservative Kevin McCarthy, dismissed on October 3 due to an internal rebellion in his party, and won the position of “speaker”, as it is known in English, in his first attempt in the plenary session.
“It has been a tough few weeks and a reminder that the House is as complicated and diverse as the people we represent. (…) As speaker, I will make sure it delivers results and inspires change for Americans,” he said. in his first reaction after being elected.
The Republicans have a slim majority in the House of 221 seats compared to the Democrats’ 212, which forces them to have the support of practically all their members in the chamber.
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Johnson needed 215 endorsements, because 429 legislators were present, and he got 220, without internal opposition, compared to the 209 of his opponent, the Democratic minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries.
The representative from Louisiana, 51, is one of the Republican legislators who tried to overturn the victory of Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential elections, the year in which Trump was still in the White House.
On his website he defines himself as a “devoted” husband and father of four children and as a lawyer “who has dedicated his life and career to fighting for fundamental freedoms and traditional values” priorities for the people of their State.
From 2015 to January 2017 he served in the state Legislature and later moved to the federal legislature, where he is the vice president of the Republican Conference, the entity in charge of electing the Republican leadership, approving assignments to committees and developing the communication strategy.
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His candidacy was confirmed late on Tuesday, after the previous official candidate, Tom Emmer, resigned just hours after being appointed by his party when he realized that he was not going to have the support necessary throughout the plenary session.
Emmer had not had Trump’s public support, who reproached him for “being totally out of touch with Republican voters” and being a Republican in name only (Rino, for its acronym in English).
The interim presidency was until now in the hands of Patrick McHenry, appointed by McCarthy, but without a “speaker” new resolutions or bills cannot be approved in the Lower House at a time when the approval of new military aid for Ukraine and Israel or the negotiation of the budget for the current fiscal year.
EFE
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