The election of Mike Johnson, a Trumpite election-denier, to the key role of Speaker of the House of Representatives, with the unanimous support of Republicans, marks the sad culmination of his party’s capture by the far right. It is also a sorry day for any prospect of bipartisan government or the ending of congressional gridlock.
Johnson represents the very irredentist hard right that ousted his predecessor, their one-time darling Kevin McCarthy, for being willing to do deals with Democrats.
The little-known Louisiana lawyer, whose main contribution to politics was to lead congressional attempts to overturn the 2020 election of Joe Biden, is a deeply conservative evangelical, opposed to abortion rights, homosexuality and same-sex marriage. He is affiliated to a group of like-minded fiscal radicals who want to defund much of the country’s social safety net. He has been described as the most conservative speaker yet to occupy the office.
Although Johnson represents only a rump of his party in the House, the Republicans’ small majority means the Trumpites have an effective veto on nominations to the leadership position. What it will mean for the House’s ability to legislate remains, however, unclear. He is confronting a mid-November deadline to pass a measure to fund the government to avert a shutdown – he voted against the McCarthy stopgap compromise in September – and has to deal with deep divisions over foreign policy, notably the Biden administration’s €100 billion funding request for Israel, Ukraine and the US southern border.
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Johnson has opposed further funding for Ukraine but the president’s astute tactical linkage of it with support for Israel may yet thwart hardline Republican opposition.
Donald Trump may have lost the White House, but now has a firm grip on half of Congress. The willingness of House Republican members to identify with his acolyte is likely, however, to prove important ammunition for Democrats as the presidential election intensifies.
