October 3, 2023 Kevin McCarthy ousted as Speaker of the House

Table Of Content

• Johnson enters speaker’s office for first time since being sworn in
• Republicans Nominate Louisiana’s Mike Johnson for House Speaker
• Determining the next steps in the Biden impeachment inquiry
• Rep. Mike Johnson voted new House speaker
• Swing-district Republican attacks Democrats who heckled him over his support for Johnson
• Biden spoke with McCarthy this afternoon, White House says

Following Clay's retirement in 1825, the power of the speakership once again began to decline, despite speakership elections becoming increasingly bitter. As the Civil War approached, several sectional factions nominated their own candidates, often making it difficult for any candidate to attain a majority. In 1855 and again in 1859, for example, the contest for speaker lasted for two months before the House achieved a result. For example, from 1839 to 1863 there were eleven speakers, only one of whom served for more than one term. James K. Polk is the only speaker of the House who was later elected president of the United States. In 1997, several Republican congressional leaders tried to force Speaker Newt Gingrich to resign.

Johnson enters speaker’s office for first time since being sworn in

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Scalise had been the party's first nominee after McCarthy was ousted, but withdrew his name one day after winning the internal GOP vote. Former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media site, early Wednesday to urge House Republicans to back Johnson for speaker, less than a day after he effectively derailed Majority Whip Tom Emmer's own bid for the gavel. GOP lawmakers who withheld their support for Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio during his three rounds of voting on the House floor are beginning to line up behind Johnson. But last month, he voted for a Rep. Matt Gaetz amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have cut off all security assistance for Ukraine.

Republicans Nominate Louisiana’s Mike Johnson for House Speaker

She said that as vice chair of the Republican Conference, Johnson has "united all of our members to speak clearly and boldly on behalf of the American people." "Today is the day that House Republicans will humbly look in our hearts and elect Mike Johnson as speaker of the People's House," she said. Turning to Jeffries, Aguilar said the Democratic leader has "never turned his back on the will of the American people."

Determining the next steps in the Biden impeachment inquiry

The three-level southern façade combines Palladian and neoclassical architectural styles. The south portico was completed in 1824.[33] At the center of the southern façade is a neoclassical projected bow of three bays. The bow is flanked by five bays, the windows of which, as on the north façade, have alternating segmented and pointed pediments at first-floor level. The bow has a ground-floor double staircase leading to an Ionic colonnaded loggia and the Truman Balcony, built in 1946.[33] The more modern third floor is hidden by a balustraded parapet and plays no part in the composition of the façade. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said interim speaker, GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry, has ordered her to vacate her office in the Capitol building.

But the same members are warning they do believe Johnson starts in a more solid place with conservatives than McCarthy did. “I have never been comfortable with CRs (continuing resolutions), but it … is going to be difficult for Mike and anyone who steps into that job, but I think he is going to do a great job,” Rep. Eli Crane, a Republican, told CNN. President Joe Biden spoke with newly minted Speaker Mike Johnson to congratulate him on his win, the White House said. CNN's Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Shania Shelton, Clare Foran, Haley Talbot, Sam Fossum, Morgan Rimmer and Kristin Wilson contributed reporting to this post.

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Rep. Don Bacon is seated next to New York GOP members Nick LaLota and Anthony D’Esposito, as he did for the previous votes. Rep. Eli Crane has his kids in the chamber and is seated near the back right behind GOP hardliners Reps. Ken Buck, Andy Biggs, and Matt Rosendale. This is the first round of voting with Rep. Mike Johnson as the Republican speaker nominee. CNN's Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and Shania Shelton contributed reporting to this post.

Sources told CNN earlier Wednesday that there was a "big push" to bring the bill to the floor once the House elected a new speaker. The challenge for House Republicans is they still have eight more spending bills to pass including two that have been stuck in committee because of disagreements within GOP ranks. In his letter to colleagues, Johnson set out an aggressive time table for passing the bills, but the issue will be finding a way to pass the legislation in just a narrow GOP majority. In a letter to colleagues earlier Wednesday, Johnson outlined his first priority will be trying to pass the remaining spending bills that have so far languished in the House one by one. But Johnson indicated that given the time constraints, if those bills can’t pass quickly, he’d look to fund to government using what is known as a short-term spending bill or continuing resolution that would run either through January 15 or April 15, whichever the conference supports.

Biden spoke with McCarthy this afternoon, White House says

Gaetz seemed receptive to Johnson's plan on Monday, calling it "quite attractive." The Florida Republican voted for Johnson in Wednesday's vote, along with all other Republican members. To show support for racial equality, Mr. Johnson in the past has told audiences that he and his wife adopted a Black teenager they met through an evangelical youth group — like the movie “The Blind Side” but without the N.F.L. prospects, he has quipped. In Congress, Mr. Johnson has voted for a national abortion ban and co-sponsored a 20-week abortion ban, earning him an A-plus rating from the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina became the speaker pro tempore and will preside over the vote and selection of the chamber’s next speaker after eight Republicans led by GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz joined Democrats in voting to remove McCarthy from the position. Ryan, then just 45, was the youngest speaker in nearly 150 years but had already been party's vice presidential nominee on the 2012 ticket. Ryan also had a strained relationship with then-President Donald Trump, with whom he had a falling out during the fall 2016 campaign.

Gaetz also pushed back on McCarthy suggesting the eight who voted against him are not conservatives. The list of the 10 speakers who served in the job longest includes just one Republican (and in the ninth slot at that). That speaker was Joseph G. Cannon of Illinois, notorious as the autocratic "Czar Cannon" during three two-year tours as speaker that ended with his party's historic defeat in 1910. The next two Republican speakers would be John Boehner, elevated to the job by the GOP recapture of the House in the "Tea Party" election of 2010. Boehner worked hard to fashion budget deals with both a Democratic President Barack Obama and a Democratic Senate.

The speakership struggle that crippled the House before it had even opened its session suggested that basic tasks such as passing government funding bills or financing the federal debt would prompt epic struggles over the next two years. Now that a House speaker has been selected following a days-long stalemate and members have finally been sworn in, the chamber can look toward picking back up business and organizing GOP-led committees. Johnson, who has represented his northwestern Louisiana district since 2017, makes history as the first speaker elected from that state. His election also means that the top two Republicans in leadership — himself and Scalise — now hail from the Bayou State. Johnson has been a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump and was a key congressional figure in the failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Johnson was first elected to the House in 2016 and serves as vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, as well as GOP deputy whip, an assistant leadership role.

Mr. Rosendale has signaled there are rules changes that could win him over, although it’s not clear what’s left to give him to appease him. They are the last remaining six Republican holdouts who in the last round voted against Mr. McCarthy. As the vote-casting began, a few people packed their bags, closed out their tabs and left.