The House Minority Leaders’ Reversal: A Day of Unity after Mike Johnson’s Nomination for Speaker and a Month Later

The House Republicans chose and then repudiated another of their nominee for speaker on the same day they tried to end the congressional stalemate by naming a fourth speaker.

Mr. Johnson stood with hundreds of other Republicans in a show of unity after he was nominated. “This House Republican majority is united.”

Members celebrated Johnson’s selection by inviting reporters into the room where GOP members had been meeting, and voting all day. Cheers rang out and members changed “Mike” as reporters raised questions about Johnson’s viability on the House floor.

The late night vote came after another long, chaotic day on Capitol Hill that saw Republicans repeating their nominating process for the fifth time this year. It took 15 votes on the House floor to choose Kevin McCarthy as their first choice.

Republicans have now spurned all three of their top leaders over the past few weeks. The chamber has been frozen for the better part of a month as Republicans feud over who should be in charge, even as wars rage overseas and a government shutdown approaches.

Others on the far-right continued to cast ballots for Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. Jordan withdrew from the race last week after Republicans voted for him to step down after three rounds of voting. Others

The latest voting began on Tuesday night with many members absent. Of the 204 members voting, 31 cast a ballot for someone who wasn’t even a declared candidate–sending a clear message that plenty of members are not satisfied with their options.

The number grew over time as the voting rounds went on. By the last ballot, McCarthy came in second place with Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., the actual declared second candidate, coming in third.

The nomination of Representative Tom Emmer, center, for speaker and then his withdrawal hours later had left Republicans scrambling in a chaotic day of reversals.

Last night, Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana emerged as the new contender, after Representative Tom Emmer of Minnesota dropped his bid hours after securing the nomination. The G.O.P. was splintered as ever after Mr. Emmer’s downfall due to a backlash from the right.

But by late Tuesday night, Mr. Johnson appeared to have put together a coalition that brought him closer to capturing the speakership than any candidate has been since hard-right rebels deposed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy three weeks ago. Though it was not certain he had the votes to be elected, he said he planned to call for a floor vote on Wednesday at noon.

The selection of Mr. Johnson, 51, was the latest turn in a chaotic leadership struggle in the House in which they have lurched from one mainstream candidate to another and now another conservative.

A social conservative, Mr. Johnson is a lawyer and the former chairman of the Republican Study Committee. He was an architect of Mr. Trump’s bid to object to congressional certification of a lawsuit seeking to overturn the election results.

Mr. Johnson smiled and shook his head after being asked about his efforts to change the outcome of the election.

The House of Representatives Set to Vote on 4th Republican Speaker Nominee, aka Mr. Emanuel-Lambda-Johnson

Mr. Johnson, a Christian, sponsored legislation last year that would prohibit the discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in institutions that receive federal funds.

The spending battles are going to be difficult for any new speaker to navigate, as they have a bitter fault line in the G.O.P. and funding for the war inUkraine.

By Tuesday night, five more Republicans were in the race, none of whom had a national profile. Mr. Johnson, a member of the Freedom Caucus, beat out Representative Donalds, who was from Florida.

“It’s a pretty sad commentary on governance right now,” said Representative Steve Womack of Arkansas, adding: “The American public cannot be looking at this and having any reasonable confidence that this conference can be governed. It is sad. I’m sad. I’m heartbroken.”

But immediately after Mr. Emmer’s nomination, about two dozen right-wing Republicans indicated that they would not vote for him on the floor, denying him the majority he would need to succeed in a vote of the full House. And as he met with holdouts to try to win them over, Mr. Trump issued a scathing statement on social media expressing vehement opposition to Mr. Emmer, calling him a “Globalist RINO” — short for “Republican in name only” — whose elevation would be a “tragic mistake.”

Some hard-right Republicans think they are a different party from their more mainstream colleagues, who they say are in a party with Democrats.

Source: House Set to Vote on 4th Republican Speaker Nominee

Reply to Comment on ‘The Inconsistency Between the New Jersey and Washington Dilated Particle Spectroscopy”

According to the former President, Mr. Emmer had called Mr. Trump over the weekend and praised him. Mr. Trump made it clear that he hadn’t been taken care of.