The US House of Representatives on January 3 supported the candidacy of Mike Johnson for the position of Speaker.
Points of attention
- Mike Johnson successfully retained his position as Speaker of the US House of Representatives with the required number of votes
- Johnson's re-election was supported by almost complete Republican backing, emphasizing party unity
- The political situation during the voting process was tense, with Johnson managing to secure the necessary 218 congressional votes
- Despite initial challenges, Johnson received crucial support from Congressmen Ralph Norman and Keith Self for his candidacy
- Johnson's stance on Ukraine aid raises questions about future Congressional decisions under the new president-elect
Johnson re-elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives
Johnson received the necessary 218 congressional votes to become Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
At the same time, Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives, received 215 votes.
Johnson was able to receive this number of votes thanks to Congressmen Ralph Norman and Keith Self, who decided to support his candidacy.
It is worth noting that Johnson was bound by almost complete Republican support for his candidacy. He could have lost only one vote.
Initially, Johnson's candidacy was supported by only 216 members of the House of Representatives. Three Republicans cast their votes for other candidates.
Mike Johnson was elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives on October 25, 2023. This came after Republican Kevin McCarthy, who had served as Speaker since January 2023, resigned.
Johnson is one of President-elect Donald Trump's associates, having personally supported his candidacy.
Johnson made a disturbing statement about aid to Ukraine
House Speaker Mike Johnson said in early December 2023 that he did not plan to put the issue of additional aid to Ukraine to a vote in Congress.
Responding to a question from Voice of America journalist Kateryna Lisunova, Johnson said:
It's not Joe Biden's job to make that decision anymore. We have a new president-elect, and we're going to wait and adopt the new commander-in-chief's strategy on all of this. So I don't expect any funding to be released for Ukraine right now.
