On Politics

Wed Oct 25 2023

Marina Pitofsky | Associate Editor/Politics

Hi OnPolitics readers! After weeks of infighting, House Republicans elected Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., to serve as the next speaker of the House.

🗺️ How did we get here? After multiple failed nominations – including Republican Reps. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Tom Emmer of Minnesota – GOP officials managed to rally around Johnson, with not a single Republican voting against him on Tuesday.

Hurdles in the House: The Louisiana Republican now has a monumental task ahead of him: mending the deep divisions that have plagued the House Republican conference since it took control of the House in January, USA TODAY's Ken Tran reported.

And he'll have to unite fragmented Republicans to pass crucial legislation, including spending measures to avoid a government shutdown next month and aid to Israel and Ukraine.

🤝 Will Johnson reach across the aisle? It's not clear. Ahead of his election, Democrats criticized Johnson for voting to overturn the results of the 2020 race for the White House. He also rallied Republican lawmakers around former President Donald Trump's legal efforts targeting the results of the election.