Finally After 3 Weeks... Republican 'Pro-Trump' Johnson Elected as Speaker of the US House

Republican four-term Congressman Mike Johnson was elected as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, filling the vacancy that had lasted about three weeks due to an unprecedented removal.

[Image source=UPI Yonhap News]

On the 25th (local time), the House held a plenary session and conducted a vote to elect the 56th Speaker of the House. As a result of the vote, Republican candidate Johnson received the support of all 220 Republican members, securing more than the majority of 217 votes. Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries received 209 votes.

With this, the House ended the disruption caused by the vacancy in the Speaker position that had continued for over three weeks since the removal of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the 3rd. Currently, Republicans hold a narrow majority over Democrats in the House, so the structure requires minimizing defections to within four votes to secure the Speaker election. However, due to divisions within the Republican Party, the three candidates previously nominated faced opposition, prolonging the House's deadlock.

The newly elected Speaker Johnson is a lawyer and a four-term representative from Louisiana. He is classified as a staunch conservative and a pro-Trump figure, opposing abortion and same-sex marriage. Former President Trump expressed his support for him on social media before the vote, strongly recommending to "go with the winning candidate Mike Johnson."

When Johnson was selected as the fourth Republican candidate for Speaker the day before, local assessments suggested that he had a relatively higher chance of being elected due to less opposition within the party compared to other candidates. However, there are also evaluations that his lack of experience in leadership roles such as committee chair or party leader within the House makes him less weighty as a Speaker candidate.

Before the vote, Johnson stated that the first bill he would propose would be a resolution supporting Israel. The deadline for the temporary budget bill passed on the 30th of last month to prevent a federal government shutdown (November 17) is also approaching.

Local media reported that Johnson "will immediately face numerous challenges that troubled his predecessor McCarthy," and that as Speaker, he will have to lead discussions on deeply divisive issues within the party such as the temporary budget bill and additional aid to Ukraine. Previously, former Speaker McCarthy was removed from office for the first time in U.S. history after a resolution to remove him passed the plenary session on the 3rd, following the handling of the temporary budget bill for fiscal year 2024 to prevent a federal government shutdown.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.