Washington. Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson has been elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, ending three weeks of uncertainty in American politics. The position of Speaker of the House of Representatives is one of the most powerful political positions in the country. The Speaker of the House of Representatives is considered third in the line of succession after the President of the United States.
On Wednesday, three weeks after Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker for the first time in American history, Johnson was elected to Congress in a closely contested 220 to 209 vote. His rival Hakeem Jeffries got 209 votes. In the 435-member House, the Republican Party has a slight majority with 221 seats compared to the Democratic Party’s 212 seats. Johnson (51), the 56th Speaker of the House of Representatives, is a lawyer by profession and a four-term congressman from Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District.
In his first address to Congress, Johnson said his first legislative agenda would be to introduce a resolution in support of Israel, which suffered a terrorist attack by Hamas earlier this month.
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This is their main challenge
“We are going to show not only Israel but the whole world that the brutality of Hamas that we have seen on our television screens is extremely sad and wrong,” he said. His main challenge will be to avoid a ‘government shutdown’ by passing a spending bill and approving President Joe Biden’s request to release US$100 billion to finance the wars in Israel and Ukraine.
Johnson’s candidacy was endorsed by Trump
In the US, a ‘government shutdown’ occurs when Congress does not release the funds needed to finance the federal government before the start of the next fiscal year. Johnson’s candidacy was supported by former President Donald Trump. Johnson said he would propose a short-term measure to fund the government until either January 15 or April 15.
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Tags: America News, Republican Party, Speaker
First published: October 26, 2023, 10:38 IST