New Speaker of the house voted in

By Ashley Peng, 2026

Published 10/30/2023

Following Kevin McCarthy’s historic ousting as Speaker of the House, the Republican Party embarked on a journey of three weeks worth of negotiations and voting to decide the next speaker. The weeks of work involved the typical late nights and stacks of pizza boxes, but also closed-door conversations and rounds of voting and polling numbers. Multiple candidates were suggested such as Majority Whip leader Tom Emmer  (R-Minn.), Rep. Charles J. “Chuck” Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), Rep. Roger Williams (R-Tex.), Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), and even former President Donald Trump and the newly-fallen McCarthy, who did not take his removal very well. 

Amongst the chaos of possible redemption and arcs of power emerged Mike Johnson, a Lousianian lawmaker. This vote-in also marks Johnson’s first ever competitive race, having been elected into Congress unopposed. What makes Johnson so notable is his previous lack of notableness, with Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) going as far as to say that Rep. Johnson and Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) were the only two Republicans he could think of with less than four enemies, the flipside being that he also lacks strong allies. Other members of the party have made similar comments, noting how they don’t know Johnson very well as a person or as a legislator, although deep dives into his past work have been uncovered, going beyond his start in Congress in 2017. Rep. Johnson’s previous comments and writing have given him a track record that is quite conservative, explicitly advocating for a fusion of religion and politics. His work in overturning the 2020 election has now also come into more light, prompting questions about the trajectory of the upcoming 2024 election. Going forward, little is known about how Johnson will approach his new role, especially with a possibility of a government shutdown still looming, but it isn’t incorrect to say that a new direction will be taken if Johnson’s track record is to be believed.