Democrats vow to protect Speaker Mike Johnson from being ousted from office

Table Of Content

• Readers Take Denver cancels 2025 conference after attendees decry “Fyre Festival of books”
• What is the GOP's majority?
• His opposition to abortion and LGBTQ rights
• Mike Johnson Elected as the New House Speaker, Putting an End to Weeks of Gridlock
• After violent night at UCLA, classes cancelled, UC president launches investigation into response
• Man who bragged that he ‘fed’ an officer to the mob of Capitol rioters gets nearly 5 years in prison
• Gazans thank U.S. campus protesters while Israel condemns what it deems ‘Nazi-like behavior’

The eldest son of a Shreveport firefighter who was critically burned and permanently disabled in the line of duty, Mike learned early on the values of hard work, honor, and sacrifice. He has a practical understanding of the challenges that small business owners face because he, like his parents and grandparents, is one himself. He and his wife Kelly, a former school teacher and now a Licensed Pastoral Counselor, have been married since 1999, and have four children, Hannah, Abigail, Jack and Will, and an older son Michael, who became a part of their family in 1999. Today, they reside in Bossier Parish.You can find Congressman's official photo here. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says she’ll call a vote next week on ousting House Speaker Mike Johnson. The Georgia Republican is forcing her colleagues to choose sides after Democratic leaders said they’d provide the votes to save the GOP speaker’s job.

Readers Take Denver cancels 2025 conference after attendees decry “Fyre Festival of books”

Like Johnson an era later, Hastert was a relatively quiet member of the leadership who enjoyed goodwill generally in the rank and file. Hastert was speaker through the last two Clinton years and first six of the George W. Bush presidency. But he voluntarily resigned after the GOP lost badly in the 2006 midterms, a defeat Bush called "a thumpin' " at the time. The No. 2 Republican at the time did not have the votes, and the No. 3 declined to run. The chairman of the Appropriations Committee was nominated by the party conference but withdrew after a magazine story accused him of marital infidelity.

What is the GOP's majority?

He has won consecutive A-plus ratings from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a Washington-based nonprofit that opposes abortion rights, for his efforts to limit access to the procedure. Jordan took his nomination to the floor, and went on to lose three floor votes over four days. Republicans dropped him as the nominee, and nine Republicans ultimately jumped in the race to be the next speaker at Tuesday's conference meeting.

His opposition to abortion and LGBTQ rights

In the Trump presidency, Johnson argued that then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's move to rip up a copy of his State of the Union speech was a crime. “A lot of people have been talking about this the last 48 hours, and I did a little legal memo to point out to my colleagues that she actually committed a felony,” Johnson said on Fox News at the time. Members of the House are now nominating representatives from their party for the speakership. House Republican Conference chair Elise Stefanik nominated speaker designee Mike Johnson on the House floor Wednesday as the GOP looks to elect a speaker after failing to fill the vacancy for three weeks.

Mike Johnson Elected as the New House Speaker, Putting an End to Weeks of Gridlock

McCarthy was in the House for 16 years before he was elected speaker, Pelosi had 20 years of experience, Paul Ryan served for 16 years, and John Boehner had 20 years before he ascended to the top job. Johnson authored legislation called the Stop the Sexualization of Children Act of 2022, which "prohibits the use of federal funds to develop, implement, facilitate, or fund any sexually-oriented program, event, or literature for children under the age of 10," his office said. Critics have dubbed it a federal "don't say gay" measure and argued that it's aimed at barring references to LGBTQ people. "On behalf of the House Republican conference, I rise today to nominate the gentleman from Louisiana, Mike Johnson, as speaker of the people's house," Stefanik said, which followed loud applause.

After violent night at UCLA, classes cancelled, UC president launches investigation into response

Trump seemed to acknowledge his role in killing Emmer's quest for the gavel, as he shared on his social media platform an article from Politico about how the former president "torpedoed" the bid. Emmer began to lose support from conservative lawmakers shortly after Trump's missive, and he bowed out of the contest shortly after. Former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media site, early Wednesday to urge House Republicans to back Johnson for speaker, less than a day after he effectively derailed Majority Whip Tom Emmer's own bid for the gavel. "Mike Johnson and I both represent two of the poorest districts in the country, but the richest in the values held by the great people of #TX23 & #LA04. I look forward to working with him to help SECURE the southern border as OUR next Speaker of the US House," he wrote on social media.

He has received more campaign money from that industry during his seven years in Congress than any other and, like many of his GOP colleagues, has repeatedly downplayed climate change. An active member of the House Judiciary Committee, Johnson gained some notice as one of the leading Republican questioners of witnesses during Trump’s first impeachment in 2019. He continued to act as one of Trump’s chief defenders through the 2020 election, rallying colleagues to sign a letter of support for an unsuccessful case by several states to throw out some election results.

He once shared the story with a mostly Democratic audience at a congressional hearing on slavery reparations, and he was surprised to hear boos as he spoke, he later recounted to the Council for National Policy, an assembly of conservative donors known for its strict secrecy. Mr. Johnson’s hallmark in Congress has been combining his hard-line views with a gentle personal style. That was on display on Wednesday, when he vowed to try to find common ground with Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader. "And at a time when everyone is elbowing each other and trying to get ahead and it is very much an Alpha-male-type-dominated situation, he is very quietly rallying people, acting as that beacon that we can all rally around." In December 2020, Mr. Johnson collected signatures for a legal brief in support of a Texas lawsuit, rooted in baseless claims of widespread election irregularities, that tried to throw out the results in four battleground states won by Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Across the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters he looks forward to sitting down with Johnson and finding a bipartisan way to avoid a shutdown before government funding expires in mid-November. Free from the political baggage that can come with a higher profile, the affable Johnson, 51, promises to restore faith in Congress as he assumes the speakership under remarkable circumstances. He’s taking charge after three weeks of infighting, other failed candidacies and no action on legislation. WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans eagerly elected Rep. Mike Johnson as House speaker Wednesday, elevating a deeply conservative but lesser-known leader to the seat of U.S. power and ending for now the political chaos in their majority.

She could activate a vote at any time so Johnson should know he is skating on thin ice. Democrats made clear that their approach would be to table Greene’s motion, rather than take an affirmative vote for Johnson, particularly because of his role leading Trump’s 2020 election challenge in the runup to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The removal of McCarthy in October left the House adrift for nearly a month, unable to take up legislation as Republicans struggled to select a replacement. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond.

"Hakeem Jeffries has not turned his back on the will of the American people. The son of two social workers, he's always stood by the side of working families. The most pressing needs of everyday Americans are his north star." This is the first round of voting with Rep. Mike Johnson as the Republican speaker nominee. Chalian noted that the last Republican candidate to win the speaker's gavel on the first vote was Paul Ryan in 2017.

Johnson has laid out a tentative legislative schedule to approve new spending and take up other pieces of legislation, but things could change quickly as he confronts the realities of governing, especially given the fractious nature of the Republican conference. 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. Two other previous candidates, Reps. Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan, withdrew their names from consideration earlier in the process after failing to unite the party's various factions.

Rep. Mike Johnson on Winning House Republican Speaker Nominee Election - C-SPAN

Rep. Mike Johnson on Winning House Republican Speaker Nominee Election.

Posted: Tue, 24 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

After McCarthy was removed, the Republican conference held a closed-door, secret ballot vote for a new speaker nominee between Majority Leader Steve Scalise and right-wing Rep. Jim Jordan, which Scalise won. Ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, joint session of Congress to count the Electoral College votes, Johnson urged lawmakers to follow a "third option," saying the way the states had changed voting rules during the pandemic had been unconstitutional, according to The New York Times. Johnson, who represents a district in western Louisiana, was first elected to the House in 2016. He is a close ally of former President Donald Trump whose arguments formed the basis of many lawmakers' objections to the Electoral College results after the 2020 election. Most concerning to many Democrats is Johnson’s support for Trump two years ago as the former president was trying to illegally overturn his presidential defeat, after every state had certified Trump’s loss and several courts had rejected the former president’s challenges. Former Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the Judiciary panel during Trump’s first impeachment, said Wednesday that during hectic times on the committee, Johnson would calmly try to organize a way forward.

He also got strong support in the Senate, where even an outright majority of Republicans voted for the aid on Tuesday. Greene had vowed to press her challenge after Johnson announced a strategy to pass $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan earlier this month. About two-thirds of that money was for Ukraine, an issue Greene had called her "red line" for moving against the speaker. Though Johnson has been under heavy fire from conservatives, lawmakers have become skeptical that Greene would call up a motion to vacate against the speaker, a procedural vote that if passed, would oust Johnson. Democrats were also wary of repeating the disorder that occurred during McCarthy’s removal. The Democratic leaders in their statement of opposition to Greene’s effort, emphasized their willingness to work across party lines on national priorities.