The U.S. House of Representatives elected Republican Mike Johnson, a conservative with little leadership experience, as speaker on Wednesday, ending a turbulent three weeks that left the rudderless chamber unable to carry out any of its basic duties.
The 220 to 209 party-line vote elevated Johnson to the powerful role that has been vacant since Kevin McCarthy was ousted on Oct. 3 by a small group of his fellow Republicans.
“We want our allies around the world to know that this body of lawmakers is reporting again to our duty stations,” Johnson, 51, said shortly after winning the speaker’s gavel.
His first act was to call up legislation to signal support for Israel, which has stepped up its bombings of Gaza following a cross-border killing and kidnapping spree by Hamas militants early this month.
Johnson is best known as the author of an unsuccessful appeal by 126 House Republicans to get the Supreme Court to overturn election results in states that Donald Trump had lost in the 2020 presidential election. First elected in 2016, he is the least experienced House speaker in decades.
The Louisiana lawmaker declined to answer a question about the Supreme Court effort shortly after his nomination on Tuesday night, while other Republicans booed and heckled the reporter who asked it.
In a letter to colleagues, Johnson has vowed to advance overdue spending legislation and ensure that the U.S. government does not shut down when current funding expires on Nov. 17.
In his speech, he said he would prioritize border security and establish a bipartisan commission to examine ways to tackle the $33 trillion national debt.
He will also have to respond to Democratic President Joe Biden’s $106 billion spending request for aid to Israel, Ukraine and U.S. border security. While House Republicans broadly support funding for Israel and the U.S. border, they are divided over further support for Ukraine.
Biden urged Johnson to move quickly on the funding package. “Even though we have real disagreements about important issues, there should be mutual effort to find common ground wherever we can,” he said in a statement.
-Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment