It was a positive sign that a resolution was in sight when Trump threw his support behind Johnson,
"The long wait for a new Speaker of the House is finally over, with Republican Mike Johnson of Louisiana managing to accrue 220 votes, surpassing the dreaded 217 number that eluded Jim Jordan (R-OH). Votes fell strictly along party lines, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) garnering 209 votes. Jeffries now has the dubious honor of losing 19 straight speaker elections, having previously gone up against Kevin McCarthy and Jordan." . .
. . ."It has been a chaotic 22 days since Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker by the "MAGA wing" of House Republicans. Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Jim Jordan were early frontrunners to replace McCarthy, but Scalise bowed out early, and Jordan failed to win over a significant portion of the House GOP conference.
"As recently as Tuesday afternoon, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) was the Republican's speaker designee, an accolade that lasted around four hours and 10 minutes. Donald Trump made it clear that he was no fan of Emmer's, meaning things were back where they started with a disgruntled "MAGA wing." Emmer withdrew by Tuesday afternoon, and Johnson became the designee by Tuesday night." . . .
"So, why Mike Johnson? RedState's Joe Cunningham had some thoughts:
One of the things that worked in Johnson's favor, however, is the fact that while he was once the Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, he is not a member of the House Freedom Caucus. Any affiliation with that group would likely have tanked his bid for Speaker, considering the strong feelings most of the more moderate wing has about Jim Jordan and how just about everyone seems to have about Matt Gaetz. Byron Donalds, also of the HFC, could not get further in his bid for Speaker due to that (as well as his relative inexperience).
Johnson is a hard-right, pro-Trump, leading election denier in the House.
Sadly, this is what passes for Speaker material in the Republican conference.— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) October 25, 2023
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