FILE – Speaker-elect Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., places the gavel down earlier than talking on the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photograph/Alex Brandon, File)
By STEPHEN GROVES Related Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — New Home Speaker Mike Johnson inherits lots of the similar issues that bedeviled Republican leaders with way more expertise. No less than for now, nevertheless, he holds favor with the ultra-conservative wing of his occasion that toppled earlier Home audio system. However can he unite Home Republicans the place others failed?
The Louisiana Republican emerged final week from the decrease ranks of the Home GOP management to ascend to speaker after lawmakers, pushed by a faction of hard-liners, ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the job after which rejected two extra top-ranked Republicans in management in addition to conservative favourite Rep. Jim Jordan.
To his supporters, Johnson represented a flip to “decentralizing the ability” from the speaker’s workplace, with a purpose of reducing authorities spending and interesting forcefully on socially conservative priorities.
“The best risk to our nationwide safety is our nation’s debt,” Johnson mentioned in a speech after taking the gavel.
Whereas not a member of the hard-charging Home Freedom Caucus, Johnson is seen by Republicans as a dyed-in-the-wool conservative in contrast to earlier audio system resembling McCarthy, R-Calif., or former Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio.
An evangelical Christian who typically cites the Bible, Johnson labored as an legal professional for anti-abortion and Christian teams earlier than working for workplace. Throughout his 4 phrases within the Home, he has led an ardently conservative caucus known as the Republican Examine Committee. He additionally spearheaded a authorized effort, championed by then-President Donald Trump, that sought to overturn the 2020 election ends in key states that the Republican incumbent misplaced to Democrat Joe Biden.
Johnson’s position within the Trump-backed lawsuit shortly turned a rallying level for Republicans, who vigorously booed a reporter’s query about that election on the night time that the congressman turned nominee for speaker. On the Home flooring, many cheered when Democrats mentioned Johnson was an architect of the objections to the 2020 outcomes.
Trump, who’s working for a second White Home time period, enthusiastically backed Johnson and mentioned he shall be “a unbelievable speaker.” Trump’s allies noticed Johnson’s rise as an opportunity to provide renewed rigor to their efforts to question Biden.
“I feel Mike Johnson will method this like a lawyer and like a tactician, not like a California lottery winner,” mentioned Rep. Matt Gaetz, taking a swipe at how McCarthy as soon as gained $5,000 from a lotto ticket. Gaetz, R-Fla., was the chief of the band of Republicans who ousted McCarthy.
However Johnson faces the identical questions that vexed McCarthy: Learn how to patch collectively a slim Republican majority wracked by feuding? Learn how to hold the federal government funded and open for enterprise? Does Congress present extra wartime support for Ukraine?
McCarthy had years of expertise in management to assist cope with such challenges. Ultimately, although, he couldn’t unite Republicans. He didn’t corral Republicans for very important laws and his determination to depend on Democrats to assist go a short-term measure that prevented a federal shutdown gave hard-line conservatives a justification for eradicating McCarthy as speaker.
Gaetz mentioned Johnson has “much more credibility” with conservatives than McCarthy did, even when the brand new speaker pushes a stopgap authorities funding plan to provide Republicans extra time to go particular person spending payments. There’s a Nov. 17 deadline to approve laws that will hold authorities companies working.
Resolving the spending struggle with a longer-term invoice would require Johnson to barter with the Democratic-run Senate and White Home, and plenty of key figures shall be working with him for the primary time.
Even Republicans within the Senate mentioned they needed to search for the fundamentals of Johnson’s profile after they heard he had been elected speaker.
Johnson has no prior working relationship with Biden. In a Fox Information interview this previous week, Johnson mentioned he had met the president simply as soon as earlier than Thursday, when he was invited to the White Home to debate Biden’s support request for Israel and Ukraine, in addition to U.S.-Mexico border cash and humanitarian help for Palestinians.
Within the interview, the brand new speaker promised an adversarial relationship with the president, saying he and Biden agree “on nearly no coverage.” Johnson spoke favorably of probably impeaching Biden and Homeland Safety Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
However Johnson’s most quick duties — the help request and the funding negotiations — would require bipartisanship.
The Home Republican Convention is deeply divided on these points. Some members are already trying to leverage the prospect of a authorities shutdown to power the Senate to take up their proposals on immigration restrictions and border safety.
Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican who’s a vocal member of the Home Freedom Caucus, mentioned he was keen to contemplate a stopgap funding invoice however provided that it was “tactical versus a punt.”
But Home Republicans final month didn’t go a funding proposal Roy helped design that will have reduce the budgets of some companies by as much as 30% whereas enacting a slew of conservative border priorities. The intractability of many Home Republicans pressured McCarthy to show to Democrats for assist in preserving the federal government working.
Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat, mentioned the stances of some conservatives imply that any speaker “will find yourself in precisely the identical place as former Speaker McCarthy did: Needing Democratic votes.”
The dynamics stay the identical for Johnson, however could also be much more daunting after lawmakers spent the final three weeks arguing over who must be McCarthy’s successor.
Private tensions are making their approach onto the ground of the Home, which had not thought of laws for 3 weeks. A number of payments to censure Home members might quickly see a vote, and New York Republicans have moved to power a vote on expelling their GOP colleague, Rep. George Santos, as he faces prison prosecution.
Johnson urged that the hassle to expel Santos for allegedly defrauding his political donors and constituents must be suppressed, however that’s unlikely to fulfill reasonable Republicans who’re rising weary of the dysfunction within the occasion.
Some lawmakers stay upset after they acquired threats for refusing to help Jordan, the Ohio congressman who was the conservative’s first selection for speaker. They are saying Jordan’s Home allies bear some duty for the vitriol.
“Some persons are in denial that they’re considerably accountable for this,” mentioned Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican who acquired threats for refusing to vote for Jordan.
Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who is concentrated on reducing authorities spending, urged the brand new speaker to shortly go his priorities.
“Mike Johnson has a grace interval right here the place it’ll be not less than 30 days earlier than we get stabby once more,” he mentioned.
