Washington [US], October 26: US House of Representatives elected Mr. Mike Johnson as the new Speaker of the House, ending many negotiations in the chaotic three weeks since Mr. Kevin McCarthy was dismissed.
Mr. Mike Johnson ( Republican Party ) was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives on October 25 after defeating minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (Democratic Party) with a vote of 220-209. No Democratic congressman voted for Mr. Johnson, who became the 56th Speaker of the House of Representatives in US history, according to The Hill .
"We are in the majority. We have gone through a short period of character building and that has brought more strength, perseverance and a lot of hope. And that is what we will bring to the table." American people," Mr. Johnson said after being elected.
With a leader in place, the US House of Representatives can now tackle many challenging legislative issues in the near future. Among them, the House of Representatives and the Senate must work soon to pass government spending budget bills before the November 17 deadline to avoid the risk of a shutdown. The White House has also asked Congress to approve additional security aid worth more than $100 billion to Israel and Ukraine .
"We want our allies around the world to know that this legislature is back in charge," Mr. Johnson said.
Since Mr. McCarthy was dismissed on October 3, the Republican Party has introduced three other faces to replace him, but all of them failed to gain enough support. Those people are Mr. Steve Scalise, Mr. Jim Jordan and Mr. Tom Emmer respectively. In the end, Mr. Johnson was chosen by consensus after the Republicans ran out of other options.
According to The Hill , Mr. Johnson has a conservative voting record, has no major opponents and is widely considered a friendly person. He has held a number of Republican leadership roles in the House of Representatives and is currently a member of two committees on the judiciary and military services. Previously, he served as a member of the Louisiana state legislature, worked as a lawyer, program host and university professor before being elected to Congress in 2017.
Mr. Johnson is said to be one of the main figures supporting former President Donald Trump 's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Mr. Jeffries of the Democratic Party said that Mr. Johnson also wants to end the programs. benefits like Social Security and Medicare.
Mr. Johnson is also an opponent of security aid to Ukraine, having voted against the aid bill in May 2022. "We should not be sending another $40 billion overseas without adequate oversight of where the money is going, when our borders are in chaos, American mothers are struggling to find formula for children, gas prices are at record highs and families are struggling to make ends meet," Mr. Johnson said at the time.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper