Speaker Johnson prevails in a nail-biter

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Posted on 01/04/2025 12:04:20 AM PST by RandFan

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Friday defied his most conservative critics to retain his gavel in the next Congress, overcoming threats from a group of far-right lawmakers leery of his leadership record and commitment to spending cuts.

The victory puts Johnson in the driver’s seat of the lower chamber just as President-elect Trump is poised to return to the White House for a second term, lending Republicans control of all levers of power in Washington for at least the next two years.

It didn’t come easy.

Johnson was initially on a path to lose the first round when three Republicans voted on Friday to elevate other figures to the Speakership post — two more detractors than Johnson could afford given the Republicans’ hairline majority. The math changed only when two of those Republicans flipped their votes — a shift that came with a nudge from Trump, who called in amid the long vote to lobby for Johnson.

The messy process grants Johnson the leadership seat he was after, but also forecasts challenges ahead as the Speaker seeks to unify the Republicans’ restive conference behind Trump’s ambitious legislative agenda beginning in the early months of 2025.

(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...

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1 posted on 01/04/2025 12:04:20 AM PST by RandFan

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