White smoke at the United States Capitol: Conservative Mike Johnson, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, was elected speaker of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, ending a three-week congressional blockade of the first power worldwide.
This 51-year-old lawyer and very religious activist for “traditional” values, who supported legal attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election, managed to obtain 220 votes in the vote.
His election was greeted by cheers and a standing ovation from members of his political party, the Republican Party, which has a majority in the House, visibly relieved to see the end of the tunnel.
In a speech after the vote, Mike Johnson sent “a message to the rest of the world” who had “observed this psychodrama” for weeks: “adversity makes you stronger,” he said.
“Let the enemies of freedom around the world hear us loud and clear. The People’s Chamber has resumed work,” he continued, promising that the first text he would submit would be on support for Israel.
He will have to tackle heavy tasks immediately.
After three attempts
President Joe Biden reminded him of this by urging him to pass “quickly” aid to Israel and Ukraine, at war respectively against Hamas and Russia, and to work to avoid a shutdown — this paralysis of the federal government which could occur in mid-November if a budget is not adopted.
However, Mike Johnson will have to navigate between the positions of his Republican colleagues, who are displaying deep disagreements, to respond to the request for a massive envelope issued by Mr. Biden for Ukraine and Israel.
The discussions also promise to be difficult to avoid a shutdownbecause he will not only have to sit down with seasoned negotiators, like Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer and President Biden, but also members of his own party.
The election of Mike Johnson comes at the end of a real soap opera which exposed the internal struggles between right-wing elected officials in broad daylight.
Elected from Louisiana little known to the general public, Mr. Johnson was in fact the fourth Republican to be chosen by his party in 22 days to replace Kevin McCarthy, dismissed in a historic vote.
The exasperation of the Republicans, anxious to put an end to a sequence which embarrassed many of them, worked in his favor.
Towards more Trumpism
Mike Johnson was endorsed by Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, both of whom failed to make the ballot.
He was also able to count on the support of Matt Gaetz, fierce Trumpist and instigator of the fall of Kevin McCarthy.
Mike Johnson is “an honorable man” who “is going to do great things for the country,” he said before the vote, asserting that the trend toward Mr. Trump was gaining momentum.
“If you think that the shift from Kevin McCarthy to Trumpist Mike Johnson is not a sign of the rise of this movement, and of the real place of power within the Republican Party, then you have not followed what’s happening,” he said. A trend that has not escaped the Democrats.
Mr. Johnson entered the House of Representatives in 2017 after sparking controversy with legislation seen as hostile to LGBT people in Louisiana.
The father of four also voted against codifying federal protections for same-sex marriage last year.
And he was the leader of more than 100 Republicans who signed a legal memo supporting a lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election in four states won by President Joe Biden.
ABC News asked him Tuesday evening about this complaint, on which the Supreme Court refused to rule, but he simply answered “next question” while his colleagues booed the journalist.