House Republicans have nominated Congressman Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) for Speaker of the House on Tuesday night after Tuesday morning’s nominee crashed and burned.
Congressman Barry Moore (R-AL02) told Alabama Today on Saturday that he really liked Johnson.
Congressman Dale Strong (R-AL05) announced his support for Johnson on the social media site X.
“Since day 1 I have called for our party to unite around a conservative speaker,” Strong said. “I am proud to announce that the conference has selected Mike Johnson from Louisiana and I look forward to supporting him on the floor.”
On Tuesday morning, the GOP started with nine candidates, including Alabama’s own Congressman Gary Palmer (R-AL06). Palmer dropped out of the race, pledging to support whoever became the Speaker of the House. The House Republican Conference then chose House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota) after five rounds of voting. The ousted Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy (R-California), endorsed Emmer.
Former President Donald Trump was not an Emmer fan and denounced Emmer as a “Globalist RINO” on Truth Social.
More than two dozen Republican House members were refusing to support Emmer. Trump’s rebuke made it apparent that the moderate from a blue state had no chance, so he dropped out.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) explained in a post on X, formerly Twitter, why she didn’t back Emmer: his voting record.
“Today I voted against Tom Emmer on all rounds of voting including the spoken roll call vote because he has a voting record I can’t support,” Green said. “He voted for Democrat gay marriage bill, voted with Democrats to overturn President Trump’s transgender military ban, voted for every penny of Ukraine funding, at one time supported the Soros national popular vote scheme, and voted to certify Biden’s 2020 election. We need a Republican Speaker that reflects the values of Republican voters that can lead our conference.”
Johnson was chosen by Republicans in a conference vote on Tuesday night. He follows Emmer, Jim Jordan, and Steve Scalise as the party’s nominee.
Johnson represents Louisiana’s Fourth District. He represents the nearly 760,000 residents of 16 parishes in the northwest and western regions of the state. He was first elected in 2016. In January 2021, Johnson was elected Vice Chairman of the House Republican Conference. Johnson also serves as a Deputy Whip for the 118th Congress.
Johnson is an attorney with two decades of previous experience in Constitutional law. He serves on the House Judiciary Committee and is the chairman of its Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government. He also serves on the Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government and the House Armed Services Committee. Johnson is a husband and father of four. In his legal career, he was a leading defender of the right to life, religious liberty, free speech, the Second Amendment, and free market principles. He served in the Louisiana Legislature from February 2015 to January 2017, where he was appointed Vice Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and the Select Committee on Leadership. He is the eldest son of a Shreveport firefighter who was critically burned and disabled in the line of duty. Johnson has also been a college professor, conservative talk radio host and columnist, a media spokesman for America’s largest religious liberty organizations, a constitutional law seminar instructor, and a board member for national organizations and numerous community groups and ministries. Johnson has a law degree from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University. He earned his undergraduate degree from LSU.
A vote could occur as soon as Wednesday morning. Johnson needs 217 votes to win.
The biggest thing Johnson has going for him is the whole absurdity of this situation. Republican House members realize that this situation does not make them look good, and they have to move on to regular business, including budgets and the President’s request for military aid for Ukraine and Israel.
Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL04) said on X, “We have got to find consensus on a Speaker. Time is of the essence. Democrats are the only ones who benefit from this impasse.”
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