What is the GOP House majority after the New York special election?

Table Of Content

• MTG lashes out after Ukraine aid bill passes, demands Speaker Mike Johnson’s resignation: ‘Complete betrayal’
• LGBTQ+ people in Huntington Beach fearful of what they say is a rise in hostility
• Trending Nationally
• House SpeakerJohnson Elected Speaker of the House, Ending Weeks of Chaos
• Man who bragged that he ‘fed’ an officer to the mob …
• News Analysis: The House Republican civil war shows Trump’s power — and its limits
• President Biden addresses campus unrest

The row earned Greene the nickname “Moscow Marjorie” from members of both parties who saw the effort to obstruct Ukraine military funding as a boost to Russian President Vladimir Putin. As Speaker of the House, Johnson may be focused on his responsibilities other than introducing legislation, such as setting the chamber’s agenda, uniting his party, and brokering deals. If you are having a problem with a government agency, look for a contact link for casework to submit a request for help. Otherwise, look for a phone number on that website to call his office if you have a question. I’m having a problem with a government agency, need legal help, want to schedule a meeting or White House tour, or have another question. Other special elections include filling former Colorado Rep. Ken Buck's seat this June following his resignation in March and former Ohio Rep. Bill Johnson's seat after he resigned in January to serve as the president of Youngstown State University.

MTG lashes out after Ukraine aid bill passes, demands Speaker Mike Johnson’s resignation: ‘Complete betrayal’

The little-known congressman was first elected in 2016, representing a solidly Republican part of north and western Louisiana. He has ascended through the ranks, chairing the conservative Republican Study Committee and holding the position of House Republican Conference vice chair. He sits on the Judiciary Committee (and chairs a subcommittee on the Constitution), the Armed Services Committee and the newly created select committee on "Weaponization of the Federal Government."

LGBTQ+ people in Huntington Beach fearful of what they say is a rise in hostility

He unified the fractious Republican Conference, winning votes from right-wing detractors of McCarthy, R-Calif., as well as centrist Republicans who opposed Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. WASHINGTON — Republicans elected a new speaker of the House on Wednesday in Rep. Mike Johnson, ending 22 days of a paralyzed chamber after a group of rebels overthrew Rep. Kevin McCarthy. Rep. Don Bacon is seated next to New York GOP members Nick LaLota and Anthony D’Esposito, as he did for the previous votes. Stefanik made the argument that Johnson is the best candidate as "we live in perilous times and the American people are hurting."

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"This is a time for all of us to act responsibly, and to put the good of the American people and the everyday priorities of American families above any partisanship." 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.

House SpeakerJohnson Elected Speaker of the House, Ending Weeks of Chaos

“I am relieved, as I think all of America is, that the chaos in the House will be discontinued,” said McConnell, R-Ky. Democrats were expected to pick up an additional seat Tuesday in a special election to replace Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY). Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and others have defended Johnson since the foreign aid legislation passed. Both have also labeled the Louisianan a “lame-duck speaker” and noted his inability to fundraise at the level of his predecessor, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

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. Gingrich managed to restore many of the powers of the speakership but clashed repeatedly with Clinton and even with Republican leaders in the Senate.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene launches her plan to oust Speaker Johnson - The Washington Post

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene launches her plan to oust Speaker Johnson.

Posted: Wed, 01 May 2024 16:14:00 GMT [source]

And Scalise has faced flak for reportedly attending an event in the early 2000s hosted by a group founded by David Duke, former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. The House Republican conference held another speaker forum Tuesday night and several more rounds of voting, with Johnson prevailing. House Republicans then nominated Jordan, although the deep divisions remained within the party. A last-minute challenger to Jordan, Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, received roughly 80 votes, according to members in the meeting, an ominous omen for Jordan's prospects. He opposes abortion rights and cosponsored a bill this year that sought to declare a constitutional right to life beginning at fertilization. According to Johnson's House biography, he is a constitutional lawyer who served in the Louisiana legislature from 2015 until 2017.

President Biden addresses campus unrest

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was pleased the threat of ousting the speaker did not appear to be gaining traction. “From the very beginning of the Congress, House Republican have visited chaos, dysfunction and extremism on the American people,” Jeffries said Wednesday. Trump has given a nod of support to Johnson, who dashed to the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida last month to shore up backing. ” said Massie, before a poster-photo of Jeffries handing Johnson the gavel when the Republican first became speaker last fall.

Rep. Mike Johnson elected 56th speaker of the House, ending weeks of GOP chaos

Conservative Republicans aim to remove US House Speaker Mike Johnson - Voice of America - VOA News

Conservative Republicans aim to remove US House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Posted: Wed, 01 May 2024 17:18:56 GMT [source]

Mr. Johnson immediately faces a host of challenges that dogged his predecessor, Mr. McCarthy. He is confronting a mid-November deadline to pass a measure to fund the government to avert a shutdown. And he will need to lead a conference deeply divided over foreign policy as Congress considers the Biden administration’s $105 billion funding request for Israel, Ukraine and the southern border. Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, was initially included, but dropped out before voting began.

Jordan, like Johnson, was deeply involved in election denialism, but Colorado’s Rep. Ken Buck, who voted for Johnson on Wednesday and against Jordan previously, said there was a key difference between their records. “This is a time for all of us to act responsibly, and to put the good of the American people and the everyday priorities of American families above any partisanship,” the president said. Californian Republicans expressed relief that Johnson’s election ended their conference’s chaos. Around three-quarters of likely voters in California support same-sex marriage and say that abortion should be legal in most or all cases, according to a January poll by the Public Policy Institute of California. But he has never chaired a congressional committee, and is the least experienced speaker in 140 years.

That’s something none of his more well-known colleagues were able to do, as Republicans struggled for more than three weeks to pick a replacement for ousted Kevin McCarthy. In the years before he arrived in Congress in 2017, Mr. Johnson worked as an attorney and spokesman for the anti-abortion-rights and anti-gay group Alliance Defense Fund — now called the Alliance Defending Freedom. During that time, he expressed some of his hard-line views in editorials in the local newspaper in his hometown of Shreveport, La. And the hard-right Republicans who voted to oust Mr. McCarthy, setting into motion the three-week stretch of chaos that left the House without a leader, said Mr. Johnson’s ascension to the top job made their decision to depose the California Republican worth it. Rep. Mike Johnson, a key figure in failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election, seems to have enough votes to secure the gavel after weeks of GOP infighting left the House in chaos. Greene and Massie said they were giving their colleagues the weekend to weigh their options before calling for the vote on her motion to vacate next week.

Representative Ken Buck of Colorado said that Mr. Johnson was not involved in postelection efforts to invalidate the results, even though Mr. Johnson was a critical player in those activities. "I made my decision based on my relationship with the conference," Emmer told reporters when asked whether Trump helped doom his candidacy. The former president noted that all of them have supported him "in both mind and spirit" since he won the White House in 2016 and said the five candidates "are beyond reproach and represent the absolute best there is in the Republican Party."

Johnson is currently facing an existential threat to his speakership led by conservative rabble rouser Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who is seeking to force the speaker out from his post for working with Democrats to pass legislation, including Ukraine aid. The announcement from Democrats ensures that Johnson will survive the most difficult stretch of his tenure so far, which saw him struggle through internal GOP divisions to pass government funding, the renewal of a key surveillance program and aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. To do so, Johnson was often forced to rely on votes from Democrats, creating an unusual governing coalition that has angered hard-right members who say their majority is being squandered. After several rounds of closed-door, secret ballot voting, Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota prevailed and became House Republicans' next nominee on Tuesday. But within hours, he withdrew his name from consideration after hardline conservatives refused to back him based on his vote to certify the 2020 election and his support of same-sex marriage.