Rep Mike Johnson Wins Speaker of the House

After Tuesday’s absolute circus, the House GOP went back into a closed-door meeting, held yet another secret ballot, and voted Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson as the new Speaker nominee. After winning the secret ballot, Johnson also won a roll call vote; however, 20 members were absent. Johnson told reporters he would reach out to the 20 who weren’t there for the roll call and the three who voted present ahead of the scheduled vote. Whatever he did must have worked because he won by a 220-209 vote on Wednesday afternoon. Rep. Mike Johnson pulled off what no one, not even McCarthy, managed to do and had a completely unified GOP stand behind him.

Rep. Mike Johnson is on the Republican Study Committee and is a known ally of the Freedom Caucus, meaning he has broad appeal on both sides of the current party split and friends in at least two of the “5 Families” of the House GOP.

By all accounts, he seems to be a decent conservative. He introduced a federal version of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, called the “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act.” His voting record seems reasonably solid. He voted against a recent Ukrainian aid bill, saying, “We should not be sending another $40 billion abroad when our own border is in chaos, American mothers are struggling to find baby formula, gas prices are at record highs, and American families are struggling to make ends meet, without sufficient oversight over where the money will go.”

If that’s not enough to recommend him for the job, Rep Liz Cheney tried to sink his run Tuesday with an oppo drop about his votes against her J6 Commission and his attempts to help former President Trump after the 2020 election.

God Bless Rep Mike Johnson. He now has the hard job of keeping the GOP in line.

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*This article has been corrected. Mike Johnson is NOT a member of the Freedom Caucus but is a known ally.

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Lorraine Yuriar is a wife, mother, and lifelong conservative, currently stuck in a very blue state.