Trump-backed Mike Johnson elected House speaker after 22 days - live
New Speaker Mike Johnson is a hard-right Christian conservative opposed to LGBT+ and reproductive rights
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Your support makes all the difference.House Republicans overwhelmingly elected Rep Mike Johnson (R-LA) to be the next speaker of the House after 22 days where the House of Representatives had no leader amid turmoil across the globe and the need to pass spending bills next month.
Mr Johnson, the former deputy whip for House Republicans, won 220 votes on the floor after House Republicans coalesced around him on Tuesday evening. His ascent came after House Majority Whip Tom Emmer dropped out a mere four hours after the House Republican conference nominated him to be speaker.
Republicans from all factions of the conference cheered Mr Johnson and whistled on the floor, chanting his name.
After conservatives, led by former president Donald Trump, revolted against Mr Emmer, he removed himself from the running and after another contest, Mr Johnson emerged victorious.
A former attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom, Mr Johnson is considered an arch-social conservative staunchly opposed to abortion. Earlier this year, he introduced legislation that would have made it illegal to transport a person under the age of 18 across state lines to obtain an abortion without parental notification.
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Emmer win House seat in 2014
Rep Tom Emmer, who joined the House after winning his seat in 2014 after spending six years in the state legislature and losing a tight race for Minnesota governor in 2010, won the first round of voting for the speaker nomination after receiving 78 votes, with Mr Johnson coming in second with 34 votes.
Mr Emmer’s lead grew in the second round, gaining 12 votes. Mr Johnson remained in second, gaining three votes. In the third ballot, Mr Emmer got 100 votes, 107 on the fourth, and finally 117 on the fifth.
The GOP spent hours behind closed doors in a candidate forum on Monday night.
Nine candidates put themselves forward as possible options – Mr Donalds, Mr Johnson, Jack Bergman, Mr Hern, Dan Meuser, Gary Palmer, Pete Sessions, Austin Scott, and Mr Emmer.
Mike Johnson is latest lawmaker to secure the GOP nomination
Rep Mike Johnson is now the latest lawmaker to secure the GOP nomination for the next House speaker – becoming the fourth nominee in just two weeks as the Republican party remains wracked by infighting and an inability to unite around a single candidate.
The Louisiana congressman was picked by his party on Tuesday night, just hours after the third nominee Tom Emmer abruptly pulled out.
With just 128 votes in a secret closed-door session, he – like the previous three nominees – still has a major uphill battle to secure the 217 votes needed to take the gavel.
Mr Emmer’s speaker bid lasted only four hours before he dropped out in the face of steadfast opposition from Donald Trump allies.
The former president attacked Mr Emmer as a “Globalist RINO” in a Truth Social post.
He then later tried to claim credit for “killing” Mr Emmer’s bid.
FULL STORY: Rep Mike Johnson becomes fourth GOP House speaker nominee in two weeks
Rep Mike Johnson is now the latest lawmaker to secure the GOP nomination for the next House speaker – becoming the fourth nominee in just two weeks as the Republican party remains wracked by infighting and an inability to unite around a candidate.
The Louisiana congressman was picked by his party on Tuesday night, just hours after the third nominee Tom Emmer abruptly pulled out.
With just 128 votes in a secret closed-door session, he – like the previous three nominees – still has a major uphill battle to secure the 217 votes needed to take the gavel.
Speaking to reporters after he secured the nomination, Mr Johnson brushed off the chaos as Republicans clamour to find a new speaker.
“Democracy is messy sometimes, but it is our system,” he said. “This House Republican majority is united.”
Read the full story:
Rep Mike Johnson becomes fourth GOP House speaker nominee in two weeks
Louisiana congressman was picked by his party on Tuesday night, just hours after the third nominee Tom Emmer abruptly pulled out.
Republicans’ search for speaker endangering foreign aid and government funding
Republicans are hoping to appoint a new speaker this week in the face of government funding running out on 17 November and President Joe Biden asking Congress for more than $100bn to help both Ukraine and Israel.
“People are locked in, he’s explaining his position,” Rep Tim Burchett of Tennessee told The Independent before Mr Emmer ended his bid. “I would hope that he can get in the room with just those people that are holding out and that would be the way to go.”
Mr Burchett was one of eight Republicans who joined every Democrat to remove Mr McCarthy, but he voted for Mr Emmer.
“He’s the overwhelming vote-getter,” Mr Burchett said of Mr Emmer.
Emmer tried and failed to win Trump over
Rep Tom Emmer worked hard in the last few days to overcome the notion that he hasn’t been sufficiently supportive of Mr Trump. However, his efforts appear to have been in vain.
Those close to Mr Trump began sniping at the Minnesota lawmaker in the media on Friday, with far-right outlet Real America’s Voice declaring that Mr Emmer is “Nancy Pelosi in a suit”.
A former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee in the 2020 and 2022 cycle, Mr Emmer worked to recruit many of the Republicans who helped Republicans flip the House. But Republicans still chronically underperformed despite winning back the majority in 2022.
Mr Emmer and his staff worked overtime over the weekend making calls, including one to Mr Trump. The call between Mr Trump and Mr Emmer has been described as cordial, even as Mr Trump has been telling associates that he doesn’t want Mr Emmer as speaker, bothered by his vote to certify the 2020 election and believing that he hasn’t been sufficiently defending him in public amidst his broadening legal woes.
The former president is also reported to be annoyed at Mr Emmer for giving the advice ahead of the 2022 midterms that GOP candidates should avoid focusing on Mr Trump during their campaigns.
“Will you endorse Emmer? He hasn’t always been your biggest fan…” a reporter asked Mr Trump in New Hampshire on Monday.
“He’s my biggest fan now because he called me yesterday and told me he’s my biggest fan so… I’m trying to stay out of that as much as possible,” Mr Trump said. He is reported to have spoken to several candidates for speaker over the weekend.
Mr Emmer shared a clip on X of Mr Trump mentioning their phone call at the weekend in an attempt to assuage his caucus that he has a good “working relationship” with Mr Trump.
“If my colleagues elect me Speaker of the House, I look forward to continuing our strong working relationship,” Mr Emmer wrote on X on Monday.
A spokesperson for Mr Emmer told Politico that “Whip Emmer worked hand in hand with President Trump to help House Republicans fire Nancy Pelosi and retake the majority”.
“If he becomes Speaker, Whip Emmer looks forward to continuing that productive relationship,” the spokesperson added.
Who is Mike Johnson? The latest GOP House speaker nominee
Rep Mike Johnson has become the latest lawmaker to secure the GOP nomination for the next House speaker, following a disastrous three weeks in the lower chamber.
The Louisiana congressman was picked by his party on Tuesday night, just hours after the third nominee Tom Emmer abruptly pulled out.
He is now the fourth GOP nominee in just two weeks, coming after Mr Emmer, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan.
With just 128 votes in a secret closed-door session, he – like the previous three nominees – still has a major uphill battle to secure the 217 votes needed to take the gavel.
Read more here:
Who is Mike Johnson? The latest GOP House speaker nominee
As the fourth GOP nominee for House speaker in just two weeks, Mike Johnson faces an uphill battle to take the gavel
Pundits worked to take down Emmer
Pundits supportive of Donald Trump, such as his former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, had been pushing the notion that Rep Tom Emmer is a Washington insider with no real connection to the MAGA movement.
“Tom Emmer, the biggest never-Trumper in the House, a guy who hates Donald Trump,” Mr Bannon said on his War Room podcast on Friday.
“Here’s the probability Tom Emmer is going to be speaker – zero,” he said.
Islamophobic hard-right influencer Laura Loomer posted that Mr Emmer is “one of the worst members of Congress” and “essentially a Democrat”.
Rep Mike Johnson becomes fourth GOP House speaker nominee in two weeks
Rep Mike Johnson is now the latest lawmaker to secure the GOP nomination for the next House speaker – becoming the fourth nominee in just two weeks as the Republican party remains wracked by infighting and an inability to unite around a candidate.
The Louisiana congressman was picked by his party on Tuesday night, just hours after the third nominee Tom Emmer abruptly pulled out.
With just 128 votes in a secret closed-door session, he – like the previous three nominees – still has a major uphill battle to secure the 217 votes needed to take the gavel.
Speaking to reporters after he secured the nomination, Mr Johnson brushed off the chaos as Republicans clamour to find a new speaker.
“Democracy is messy sometimes, but it is our system,” he said. “This House Republican majority is united.”
GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer drops speaker bid after four hours
Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s speaker bid lasted only four hours before he dropped out in the face of steadfast opposition from a number of right-wing members of the House Republican conference.
Mr Emmer won the nomination on Tuesday for speaker after five rounds of internal voting, but it quickly became clear that he wouldn’t reach the 217 votes needed on the floor of the House.
Mr Emmer and Rep Mike Johnson were the final two in the internal ballot after Rep Kevin Hern was booted in the fourth round and Rep Byron Donalds dropped out voluntarily.
Trump boasts that he ‘killed’ Tom Emmer’s speaker bid
Tom Emmer’s public display of gratitude towards Donald Trump for backing his bid for House Speaker did not age well, after the former president boasted online that he had in fact “killed” his chances of winning the coveted position.
The GOPcongressman won his party’s nomination early on Tuesday, but immediately faced steadfast opposition from a number of right-wing members of the House Republican Conference. He dropped out of the race four hours later.
It came just over 24 hours after he sycophantically posted online thanking Mr Trump for an apparent endorsement. Mr Trump was asked on Monday if he would endorse Mr Emmer for House Speaker, despite the latter not always having been “his biggest fan”.
“He’s my biggest fan now because he called me yesterday and told me ‘I’m your biggest fan’,” Mr Trump responded, adding: “We’re looking at a lot of people and I’m trying to stay out of that as much as possible.
“I’ve always gotten along with him, I’ve gotten along with all of them. [There’s] a lot of good people.”
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