October 24, 2023
Maybe fourth time’s the charm?
House Republicans just nominated Representative Mike Johnson to be the next Speaker of the House.
And if you’re trying to figure out who he is – let me save you the google search.
He’s a conservative Republican from Louisiana. He was elected to the House in 2016 and he serves on the House Judiciary and the Armed Services committee and he also serves on the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
He is also the Vice Chairman of the House Republican conference. And before he was a politician he spent nearly 20 years practicing constitutional law. He voted against the continuing resolution to keep the government open, voted no on Ukraine funding, voted against the bill that federally recognized same sex marriage last year and voted not to certify the 2020 election.
In this letter announcing his candidacy over the weekend he quotes scripture, he says unequivocally the federal government has been “weaponized against the people” and he emphasizes the importance of the republican conference coming together. He says he can use his background to accomplish all those things and help Republicans keep the House majority in the upcoming election.
But just like Steve Scalise, Jim Jordan, and Tom Emmer – at this point — Mike Johnson does not have the 217 votes he needs to be the speaker. And it’s unclear if he can get there. During the secret ballot vote to nominate him – 102 Republicans voted for someone other than Johnson.
It’s possible we could see a full House vote for Mike Johnson as early as tomorrow morning.
