America’s House of Representatives finally has a speaker
As America’s House of Representatives began its fourth week without a speaker, it seemed like nothing would ever get Republicans to unite behind a new leader. But it turns out something could bring the fractious party together: sheer exhaustion, mixed with the possibility of having to govern with Democrats.
On October 25th Republicans unanimously voted for Mike Johnson, a 51-year-old congressman from Louisiana, to lead the lower chamber. Three previous nominees had dropped out after failing to get the support needed for the job. Mr Johnson, a lawyer and self-described “full-spectrum conservative”, has quietly risen through the ranks on Capitol Hill since arriving in 2017. He held relatively low-key positions in Republican leadership and for two years led the Republican Study Committee, an ideological caucus that counts a large majority of House Republicans as members. Yet Mr Johnson has never even served as a committee chairman.
Democrats who worked with hard-right Republicans to dispose of Kevin McCarthy may have hoped for a more moderate replacement. They are likely to be disappointed with the outcome. Mr Johnson’s congressional website describes him as “a leading defender of the right to life, religious liberty, free speech, the Second Amendment and free-market principles”, and the father of four stands out as a social conservative even within the Republican Party. Compared with Jim Jordan, a mentor whose own speakership bid failed, Mr Johnson has had a little more success sponsoring bills that actually became law.
2023-10-25 19:14:33
Article from www.economist.com
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