Republican Mike Johnson was chosen as the new speaker for the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, after weeks of chaos and dysfunction in the chamber.
The U.S. House of Representatives elected Republican Mike Johnson, a conservative with little leadership experience, as speaker on Wednesday, ending a turbulent three weeks that left the rudderless chamber unable to carry out any of its basic duties.
Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana who has only been in Congress since 2016, won the vote by 220 to 209 along party lines.
Johnson, 51, is a staunch conservative who tried to get the Supreme Court to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in favor of Donald Trump. He did not answer questions about that effort on Tuesday night, when he was nominated by his party.
He said he would work to pass spending bills before the government runs out of money on Nov. 17, and to support Israel, which is under attack from Hamas militants in Gaza.
He also promised to address border security and the $33 trillion national debt with a bipartisan commission.
He faced a challenge from Democratic President Joe Biden, who asked him to approve a $106 billion funding package for Israel, Ukraine and U.S. border security.
While Republicans agree on helping Israel and the U.S. border, they are split on giving more aid to Ukraine.
“We want our allies around the world to know that this body of lawmakers is reporting again to our duty stations,” Johnson said shortly after winning his emergence.
