Mike Johnson of Louisiana elected speaker of the US House after three weeks of stalemate

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Wednesday voted for Louisiana's Mike Johnson as speaker in a chamber that has been frozen for more than three weeks after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted.

In a 220-209 party-line vote, all Republicans present backed Johnson. All Democrats present voted for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of New York nominated Johnson, 51, who represents his state’s 4th District, saying the conservative congressman “epitomizes what it means to be a leader."

“Today is the day that House Republicans will humbly look in our hearts and elect Mike Johnson as speaker of the people's House," Stefanik said.

Democratic Conference Chair Pete Aguilar of California nominated Jeffries, calling him a “far contrast from who Republicans nominated.”

“The most pressing needs of everyday Americans are his North Star,” Aguilar said.

Johnson, who does not have a strong bipartisan track record, will be tasked with working with the Democratic-controlled Senate on a quickly approaching Nov. 17 government funding deadline, and critical legislation such as the recent nearly $106 billion supplemental request from the Biden administration to fund Ukraine, Israel and global aid and U.S border security.

Johnson has voted against several recent bipartisan pieces of legislation such as the infrastructure law, a gun safety bill signed into law and the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

Johnson was one of more than 100 House Republicans who voted to block Pennsylvania and Arizona’s 2020 presidential election results following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In advance of the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 Johnson led a statement with 36 fellow Republicans outlining opposition to the Electoral College results in Georgia and Michigan as well.

• Congressman Johnson serves Louisiana’s Fourth District. He represents the nearly 760,000 residents of 16 parishes in the northwest and western regions of the state. 

In November 2022, Rep. Johnson was unanimously re-elected to serve another term as Vice Chairman of House Republicans in the 118th Congress. He also serves as a Deputy Whip for the 118th Congress, to help implement the Republican agenda. He was previously honored to serve as chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus of conservatives in Congress, known as "the intellectual arsenal of conservatism in the House."

With two decades of previous experience in Constitutional law, Rep. Johnson serves on the House Judiciary Committee, and is the chairman of its Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government. He also serves on the Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, and on the House Armed Services Committee. His district includes important military installations, including Barksdale Air Force Base, headquarters of the Air Force Global Strike Command, and Fort Johnson (formerly Fort Polk) and the Army's Joint Readiness Training Center, as well as the Louisiana National Guard's Camp Minden Training Site and other assets.

Rep. Johnson earned his Juris Doctorate from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in 1998 where he was selected as a member of the Moot Court Board and National Moot Court Team and was elected class president and president of the Christian Legal Society. He earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Louisiana State University in 1995, where he was selected to Leadership LSU and the Order of Omega Honor Society, Kappa Sigma Fraternity and served as president of the LSU Interfraternity Council.