OAN Staff Blake Wolf
6:39 PM – Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson was unanimously chosen to stay on as the House Speaker. He ran unopposed.
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GOP representatives voted orally, rather than a ballot vote or a roll call, leading to Johnson’s unanimous victory, according to The Associated Press.
Despite Johnson’s (R-La.) victory, the Republican House Speaker will need to win the majority of votes from the entire House chamber in January, which comes out to 218 votes, to hold his position.
Johnson was initially elected as the House Speaker in 2023 following Kevin McCarthy’s controversial exit.
McCarthy was ousted by a coalition of lawmakers led by the new attorney general in Trump’s administration, Matt Gaetz, who criticized McCarthy for making compromises with Democrats regarding legislation.
In October 2023, Gaetz mentioned Johnson on Steve Bannon’s podcast.
Johnson has also had to diplomatically maneuver political in-fighting as the GOP held a miniscule House majority.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a well-regarded GOP politician, has previously been a critic of Johnson due to his foreign policy stance, characterizing him as “basically a neocon.”
Additionally, others in his own party, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), have also expressed criticisms regarding Johnson’s motives.
Greene previously attempted to oust the Republican House speaker for passing a $1.2 trillion spending package in 2023. She has also condemned Johnson for his willingness to fund Ukraine in their ongoing war with Russia.
On Tuesday, after being asked outside the Capitol if she will back Johnson in the House floor and in the internal leadership elections on Wednesday, Greene responded, saying: “Well, I think he’s the only one running for Speaker, so I don’t understand everybody asking this question.”
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