Mike Johnson elected House speaker with unanimous GOP support, ending weeks of chaos
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Gingrich had been a backbench rabble-rouser since coming to the House in 1978 and built up a cadre of supporters until he won the party's No. 2 power position as minority whip in 1989. Two colleagues had spoken up to say they would join Greene in such a vote, giving her enough to defeat the speaker if all the chamber's Democrats voted to do the same. That's what the Democrats did when a motion to vacate the chair ousted the last Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy, last fall.
December 1851
In effect, the threshold decreases by a vote for every two people who answer present or do not participate. The vote for Speaker is a rare instance where a verbal roll call is made of each Member. The House usually records its votes by electronic means, which saves a lot of time and allows Members to vote at any time during the minutes usually reserved for a roll call. But the Speaker’s election is different, partly by tradition, but also because it is not a yes or no vote.
Kevin McCarthy gives cheeky answer for his newest government gig
Kevin McCarthy is ousted as House speaker in historic vote. What happens next? - The Associated Press
Kevin McCarthy is ousted as House speaker in historic vote. What happens next?.
Posted: Wed, 04 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
When speaker elections have gone to multiple ballots, no speaker has ever been elected on ballots four to eight. A New York Times article last year called Johnson “the most important architect of the Electoral College objections” on Jan. 6, 2021. His argument to colleagues was that certain states’ changes to their voting procedures during the Covid-19 pandemic were unconstitutional, an argument that became more palatable to lawmakers than the fabricated claims of mass fraud. Clark’s ascension to a top House leadership position comes less than 10 years after she entered Congress representing Massachusetts’ 5th Congressional District, a Democratic stronghold outside Boston. She won a special election in 2013 to succeed Democrat Ed Markey, following his election to the Senate, and has comfortably won reelection ever since.
GOP Rep. Bice considering running for Johnson's former leadership role
During the speaker battle, Trump proved more adept at hurting candidates than helping them win — his early endorsee, Jordan, flamed out on the floor. But Johnson's ability to avoid Trump's ire cleared a hurdle for him within the House GOP, which is attuned to the wishes of the "MAGA" base. Johnson is a constitutional lawyer who has used his talents to craft some creative — and controversial — theories. The most notable is his role in devising an argument aimed at keeping Donald Trump in power even though he lost the 2020 election. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Tuesday won the party’s nomination to become the next House speaker, but the real test will be in January when the new members take office and hold the deciding vote.
His first speakership run came when then-House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) resigned after an internal party battle with members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus. Republican U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy is set to face a case of deja vu come Tuesday. The political future of the 57-year-old will once again be at stake as GOP lawmakers decide whether he should be elected as House speaker. To win the Speakership, a person must secure a simple majority of those present and voting. If all 435 Representatives-elect vote for a particular person, the majority would be 218. For each person who answers present or otherwise does not vote, the threshold to win a majority decreases.
But the unity was in part a product of burnout among House Republicans, who in spite of their differences grew eager to put an end to the weekslong spectacle of mass dysfunction and paralysis that many said had left their constituents distraught. The outgoing speaker will usually join the successor at the speaker’s chair, where they will pass the gavel as a nod to the peaceful transition of power from one party leader to another. This time around, that will be Pelosi, the California Democrat who held the gavel for the last four years. The first day of a new Congress is a truly exciting day for the House, and especially its newly elected Members.
The House passed a resolution in support of Israel in the war against Hamas – the first measure to come to the floor after Speaker Mike Johnson was elected earlier Wednesday following three weeks without a speaker. As House Republicans gathered earlier in the week to select their third nominee for speaker, Trump vowed to remain on the sidelines of the race. But hours after Emmer won the nod in a closed-door vote by the conference Tuesday morning, the former president lambasted the Minnesota Republican, writing on Truth Social that "voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake." Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, another Scalise supporter, told reporters after Johnson was elected speaker-designate that he believes Republicans are "back" and the conference's agenda "back on track." The new speaker has been in Congress since 2017 and has no experience in the House leadership. Johnson was the party's fourth nominee for speaker in three weeks, having taken the place of Rep. Tom Emmer, whose candidacy lasted all of four hours on Tuesday.
An election for speaker took place on January 6, 1943, on the opening day of the 78th Congress, two months after the 1942 elections in which Democrats won a majority of the seats. An election for speaker took place on January 3, 1941, on the opening day of the 77th Congress, two months after the 1940 elections in which Democrats won a majority of the seats. An election for speaker took place on January 3, 1939, on the opening day of the 76th Congress, two months after the 1938 elections in which Democrats won a majority of the seats. William B. Bankhead received a majority of the votes cast and was re-elected speaker.
December 1855 – February 1856
It is exceptionally rare for a Member-elect to vote for the other party’s candidate. The last to do so was the colorful, late Jim Traficant, a Democrat from Ohio, who voted for Speaker J. Dennis “Denny” Hastert in 2001. The Democrats responded by refusing to assign him to any committees, making him the first rank-and-file Member without committee assignments in almost 100 years. An election for speaker took place on November 4, 1811, at the start[c] of the 12th Congress, following the 1810–11 elections in which Democratic-Republicans won a majority of the seats. Henry Clay, a freshman congressman, received a majority of the votes cast and was elected speaker.[16] This marks the only time in American History a Speaker of the House was elected on their first ever day on its floor. More than seven years later, he is the party’s nominee for speaker after leading the Republican Party to a slim majority in the November midterm elections.
In this scenario, the speaker is known for undercutting the president's agenda by blocking measures by the minority party or rejecting bills by the Senate. John Boehner was elected speaker when the 112th Congress convened on January 5, 2011, and was subsequently re-elected twice, at the start of the 113th and 114th Congresses. The Republicans came out of the 2000 elections with a further reduced majority but made small gains in 2002 and 2004. Last month, Greene filed a motion to oust fellow Republican Johnson from his position as speaker of the House, citing his collaboration with Democrats to pass a government spending bill. In the weeks since, Johnson again worked with the House minority to approve legislation authorizing military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, and reauthorize a controversial surveillance law. Greene, meanwhile, has picked up only two other co-sponsors to her motion to vacate the speaker’s chair, and it was unclear if she would continue with her campaign.
At their own private meeting this week, some Democrats objected to helping Johnson, particularly after he helped lead Trump’s legal challenges to the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden. Party leaders have said their support for sidelining Greene’s resolution is not the same as a vote for Johnson. The majority party members and the minority party members meet separately to select their leaders. Third parties rarely have had enough members to elect their own leadership, and independents will generally join one of the larger party organizations to receive committee assignments.
In 1997, several Republican congressional leaders tried to force Speaker Newt Gingrich to resign. However, Gingrich refused since that would have required a new election for speaker, which could have led to Democrats along with dissenting Republicans voting for Democrat Dick Gephardt (then minority leader) as speaker. After the 1998 midterm elections where the Republicans lost seats, Gingrich did not stand for re-election. The next two figures in the House Republican leadership hierarchy, Majority Leader Richard Armey and Majority Whip Tom DeLay chose not to run for the office.
The challenge for House Republicans is they still have eight more spending bills to pass including two that have been stuck in committee because of disagreements within GOP ranks. In his letter to colleagues, Johnson set out an aggressive time table for passing the bills, but the issue will be finding a way to pass the legislation in just a narrow GOP majority. Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota declined Tuesday to say whether former President Donald Trump was a factor in his decision to end his bid for the speakership. Republicans held a candidate forum Tuesday night with five members vying to be the next speaker-designee after Emmer withdrew. Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana won in a three-round vote late Tuesday to become the next speaker-designee — the fourth since Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California was ousted from the position on Oct. 3. Scalise had been the party's first nominee after McCarthy was ousted, but withdrew his name one day after winning the internal GOP vote.
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