(Johnson)
Analysis by Todd Lassa
The House MAGA club, which amounts to a large minority of that chamber, has managed to get all the chamber’s Republicans make Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) the 56th speaker. The first-round vote was 220-209. Indications are the MAGA club makes up somewhere between 147 and a bit less than 200 of the House GOP caucus.
One popular early take is that Johnson snuck in as an unknown who has put forth no significant legislation since he was first elected to the House in 2016. Except, he was a member of Donald J. Trump’s congressional defense team in the first of his impeachment trials – the one about the “perfect phone call” with then-newly elected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – alongside 56th House speaker candidate No. 3, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).
Johnson also authored an amicus brief “at Trump’s behest in a controversial 2020 case” filed by the Texas attorney general, that sought to overturn the presidential election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin (per Forbes). Johnson recruited 125 fellow Republicans to co-sign, so these reps presumably know something about him.
In his first press conference Wednesday, ABC News congressional correspondent Rachel Scott tried to ask; “You led the effort to overturn the 2020 election results, do you …” and was booed by other Republicans and told to go away, Newsweek reports. Scott also tried to ask Johnson if he would support more aid to Ukraine and Israel.
Could moderate Republicans who previously torpedoed Jordan’s campaign for the job use a motion to vacate to get rid of Johnson over aid to Ukraine and Israel? After Jordan’s defeat, ex-President Trump “killed” moderate Republican speaker candidate Tom Emmer’s bid by getting on the phone with House members after posting on Truth Social that the representative from Minnesota is “totally out-of-touch with Republican voters” and a “globalist RINO” (per Politico).
So it went back-and-forth until Johnson emerged as some sort of empty-suited compromise. House Republicans were just too weary to ask questions about who he is, NPR’s All Things Considered reported, and went along with the MAGA club of barely 200 members to vote him in. What happens to him after a budget deal or extension is, at this point, anyone’s guess.
A news feature on Johnson in a 2016 issue of The Louisiana Baptism Message offers these insights: “I am a Christian, a husband, a father, a life-long conservative, constitutional law attorney and a small business owner in that order.”
A take from the other side is that he is “the most important architect of Electoral College objections,” according to Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), per the BBC.
____________________________________________
Speaker Race is On Again
TUESDAY 10/24/23
UPDATE -- House Republicans begin their private-vote process to nominate a new speaker from eight candidates vying for the position. That's down from nine, as Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania has dropped out (The Washington Post). Scroll down for the full list. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) (above) is considered the frontrunner among Republicans.
With eight Republican candidates remaining, we could be in for another long round before the House of Representatives can get back to work, address a proposal for U.S. aid for Israel and Ukraine, and avoid a government shutdown by the middle of November. After the GOP brings its nominee to the House floor, the full chamber will vote. Democrats will nominate their minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York once again. A nominee needs 217 House votes to become speaker.
NOTE: In the face of all this drama behind the speaker's race, The Hustings will be off for the rest of the week. Do not let that stop you from submitting your comments on this issue or any other recent issues, with an email to editors@thehustings.news.
____________________________________________
MONDAY 10/23/23
After Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) ended his bid to become speaker of the House last Friday following his third loss (with a vote total that continued to sink) House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, of New York gave intended candidates until noon Eastern Sunday to declare. Of the nine who declared, all are members of the right-wing Republican Study Committee, but only two voted to certify the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden, according to The Washington Post.
They are …
•Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), the House Majority Whip. He has the support of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who told NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, he is “head and shoulders above all those who want to run.” (Does that mean he has no chance?)
•Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA).
The others are …
•Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), chairman of the Republican Study Committee.
•Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), previous chair of the House Rules Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee.
•Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), the only Black Republican speaker candidate, a staunch Trump ally who is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and the Republican Study Committee.
•Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), a retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant general who chairs the House Armed Services subcommittee on intelligence and special operations.
•Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), an attorney and former radio host and close Trump ally who served on the former president’s legal defense team during his two impeachment trials.
•Rep. Dan Menser (R-PA), one of more than 120 House Republicans who in December 2020 signed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit that would have invalidated the presidential election results in four states, including his own. He is on the moderate Problem Solvers Caucus as well as the not-so-moderate Main Street Republicans and Republican Study Committee.
--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa