Finally After 3 Weeks... 'Pro-Trump' Johnson Elected as Speaker of the US House of Representatives (Comprehensive)

Mike Johnson, a Republican lawmaker known as a 'pro-Trump' figure, was elected as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, filling the vacancy that lasted about three weeks following an unprecedented removal. Hardline Republican members led the process from the Speaker's dismissal to the election, leading to assessments that the ultimate winner of this incident is the 'Trump faction.'

[Image source=AFP 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, Johnson, the Republican candidate, received the support of all 220 Republican members, surpassing the majority threshold of 217 votes. Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries received 209 votes.

With this, the House ended the disruption caused by the vacancy after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy's removal on the 3rd and returned to normalcy after 22 days. Currently, Republicans hold a narrow majority over Democrats in the House, making it necessary to minimize defections to within four votes to secure the Speaker's election. However, ongoing divisions within the Republican Party had previously led to three candidates consecutively losing their bids.

In his inaugural speech, Speaker Johnson emphasized, "The trust of the American people in Congress is in a precarious state," adding, "We face the challenge of rebuilding this broken trust." He stated, "A world in peril needs a strong America," and added, "The first bill I will introduce will be to support Israel."

Johnson, a lawyer by profession, served as a Louisiana state representative before becoming a federal representative in 2017. He is a staunch conservative pro-Trump figure opposing abortion and same-sex marriage. He was also considered one of the leading figures who sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, which former President Trump lost. Prior to the vote, former President Trump expressed his support for Johnson on social media, strongly recommending, "Go with the winning candidate Mike Johnson."

However, there are evaluations that Johnson lacks the gravitas expected of the third-highest-ranking official in U.S. power as Speaker, due to his relatively short political career and lack of experience in leadership roles such as committee chair or party leader within the House. The New York Times (NYT) assessed, "If it were not for the unprecedented situation where three Republican candidates consecutively failed due to party divisions, his chances of becoming Speaker under any scenario would have been very low." Previously, Republican candidates for Speaker?House Minority Leader Steve Scalise, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan who had far-right support, and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer?had all lost due to internal party divisions.

Locally, it is ultimately assessed that the hardline Republicans emerged as the final victors. The figure who introduced the motion to remove former Speaker McCarthy, which triggered the unprecedented Speaker dismissal, is Representative Matt Gaetz, a leading hardliner within the party. Moreover, hardline members united and led the process of electing the new Speaker. Due to the House's structure, where even five defections within the party would make electing a Speaker difficult, the power held by the 20 hardline members stood out significantly.

The NYT stated, "In the end, the hardline Republicans got the candidate they wanted," adding, "Johnson was not the person the hardliners really wanted (Jim Jordan). However, as someone not well known to most Americans, he was the second choice acceptable to the far right." Previously, Minority Leader Scalise and Whip Emmer withdrew before the 'final' plenary vote due to hardliner opposition. With Judiciary Chairman Jordan, who has an excessively far-right stance, failing to secure moderate votes after three rounds of voting, Johnson became the alternative. In this process, former President Trump's influence was also clearly confirmed.

With the paralysis caused by the Speaker vacancy ending, the House now faces numerous urgent issues. President Joe Biden had previously requested emergency security budgets from Congress to support Israel and Ukraine. The deadline for the temporary budget passed on October 30 to prevent a federal government shutdown (November 17) is also approaching. Local media reported, "Johnson will immediately face many challenges that plagued 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 and additional support for Ukraine.

In this process, there are assessments that President Biden's key policy agenda may also face obstacles. Johnson, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has previously expressed opposition to U.S. support for Ukraine.

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