Three weeks after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted from his role as Speaker of the House, and after three Republicans were nominated but could not win the necessary votes to be elected, the House has finally elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) to be the 56th Speaker, capping off a chaotic month that has paralyzed the House.
After Reps. Scalise (R-LA), Jordan (R-OH), and Emmer (R-MN) won enough votes in the GOP caucus to be formally nominated on the House floor, none were able to win enough Republican votes to be elected speaker. Reps. Scalise and Emmer withdrew from consideration when it was clear that they would not win enough Republican votes to counter the Democrats unanimous support for their party leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Rep. Jordan forced three votes on the floor, but lost each of them, with at least 20 Republicans voting against him on each ballot before the conference voted to drop him from the ballot last week.
Speaker-elect Johnson won all 220 of the Republican votes cast, propelling him to a 220-209 win over Rep. Jeffries. Prior to becoming speaker, Johnson has served as the House conference’s vice chairman, a junior leadership position, since 2021. He is also a former chair of the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House, and currently serves on the Judiciary and Armed Services committees.
Though the speaker chaos has finally come to a close, it will not be all smooth sailing ahead for the House. Congress is staring down a November 17 deadline to fund the government or risk a federal government shutdown, and the White House is asking lawmakers to approve a $100 billion national security supplemental to support Israel and Ukraine. These legislative lifts will serve as early tests of Johnson’s ability to manage the Republican conference, a task that former-Speaker McCarthy struggled with throughout his nine-month tenure.
While the House floor has been closed for legislative business since Rep. McCarthy’s ouster on October 3, the legislative process and Argentum’s advocacy efforts have not stopped. We have continued communicating with lawmakers to advance key workforce and appropriations legislation, which will be critical with only 23 days to reach a spending deal before the November 17 deadline to avoid a government shutdown. We have also continued progress on the introduction of important legislation for senior living communities and residents.
Learn more: Watch today's Argentum Advocates Member Briefing (28 minutes)
