Will Mike Johnson put an end to the GOP speaker shredder?
The congressman from Louisiana managed to beat Byron Donalds and Kevin McCarthy and will present his candidacy at the plenary session on Wednesday afternoon.
(Wikimedia Commons/House.gov)
Mike Johnson will be the fourth Republican Party candidate to preside over the House of Representatives in just three weeks. The fifth in ten months, if you count the deposed Kevin McCarthy. After the fleeting nomination of Tom Emmer, Johnson will try to win the prize on Wednesday in a plenary session. Although his election is not guaranteed, since he can only lose four votes from the members of his conference, he seems a candidate that the different conservative currents could support.
Defeated McCarthy and Byron Donalds
The representative from Louisiana was the last rival who held out in the morning vote until the last round against the majority whip, which prevailed in the final count. After his resignation, Johnson managed to be nominated with 128 votes. Although he was not on the official shortlist, McCarthy, who proposed teaming up with Jim Jordan as deputy speaker to unblock the situation, was the second-highest vote-getter (43), according to CNN. Ultimately, Johnson defeated the hardline favorite, Florida Congressman Byron Donalds.
Although the initial numbers were not promising for the real test -the floor vote, where he needs 217 favorable votes to take the seat- Johnson managed make it out alive of a late afternoon confirmation vote on his election among members of the Republican conference. The newly elected candidate announced that he will seek to be elected on Wednesday afternoon so as not to keep the House closed for another second.
A candidate who can unite the currents of the GOP
Mike Johnson is the current Vice President, of the Republican Conference, in the House of Representatives. A self-confessed Christian, the new candidate noted that he decided to take the step after several members of the GOP asked him to do so, as a candidate who could bring together all currents of the party, and after "praying and deliberating a lot." In his candidacy presentation letter, he demanded that his party colleagues choose a consensus candidate and put as priorities "good management" and working to expand the conservative majority in the 2024 elections.
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