House Speaker vote puts GOP unity to the test : NPR

Republicans are taking the primary steps Friday to usher in a brand new period of full GOP management in Washington as Congress comes into session. However the normally ceremonial course of within the Home is already slowed down in political infighting over who needs to be elected Speaker of the Home.

Home Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, is working for re-election with the backing of nearly all of Republicans however a couple of holdouts might revive the chaotic management battles that dominated their get together for the previous a number of years. Republicans once more have a razor skinny majority within the Home and Johnson wants close to unanimity amongst GOP members to realize the gavel once more. If all lawmakers are current, he can solely afford to lose one vote.

President-elect Trump endorsed Johnson earlier within the week, and posted on his social media channel hours earlier than the vote, which Johnson re-shared. Within the submit Trump referred to as Johnson “a positive man of nice capacity.”
 

The drama on the primary day of the brand new Congress echoed the dynamic two years in the past when Kevin McCarthy confronted opposition from a bunch of conservatives to be elected speaker. After failing to get the votes, he negotiated concessions along with his critics, together with modifications to the Home guidelines. It took 4 days and 15 rounds of voting for McCarthy to be elected speaker. 9 months later McCarthy was ousted for working with Democrats to keep away from a doable authorities shutdown. That set off a number of weeks of chaos when a number of prime GOP leaders did not safe sufficient help to get the gavel till Johnson, then a rank and file conservative member of the Home Judiciary panel, was nominated with unanimous help.
 
Johnson argued Republicans wanted to stay collectively to re-elect him Friday as a result of it was important that the get together transfer to enact Trump’s agenda, now that Republicans maintain each chambers of Congress and may have the White Home when he is inaugurated on January 20^th.

The speaker instructed Fox Enterprise Information a day earlier than the vote that he believed he would get elected on the primary poll. “We even have to repair every part, and that has to start on day one, so we haven’t any time to waste. And I feel that everyone acknowledges that right here.”

Electing a speaker is the primary order of enterprise within the new Congress and no different enterprise can happen earlier than what was ceremonial vote. GOP leaders scheduled a vote on rules package to manipulate the brand new session. That included a measure requiring that 9 members can be wanted to convey a movement to take away the speaker of the Home, and that solely Republicans can be allowed to convey up such a decision.

The Home is scheduled to certify the 2024 election outcomes on Monday, January 6 – another excuse why Johnson and GOP leaders get together members to rally round him.