Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson Elected as Speaker of the House

(KNSI) – Republicans have elected Louisianna Congressman Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House.

He picked up a 220-vote majority on Wednesday. His election ends three weeks of chaos by elevating a little-known conservative to one of the highest seats of U.S. power. He reportedly has few foes and an important GOP backer, Donald Trump. Johnson is a lawyer specializing in constitutional issues who had rallied Republicans around Trump’s legal effort to overturn the 2020 election results.

Johnson is a lower-ranked member of the House GOP leadership team and became the fourth Republican nominee since the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy. The endorsements for Johnson started pouring in overnight, including from failed speaker hopefuls Rep. Jim Jordan and Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

His rise comes after a head-spinning Tuesday that, within a span of a few hours, saw Minnesota Sixth District Representative Tom Emmer, the GOP Whip, nominated then quickly withdraw when it became clear he would not be able to secure enough support after Trump bashed his nomination.

The election of a Speaker comes at a critical time since the federal government risks a shutdown in weeks if Congress fails to pass funding legislation by a November 17th deadline.

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