House back in action after Mike Johnson clinches Speakership: Live coverage

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he called new Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to congratulate him and looks forward to meeting soon to discuss legislative priorities for the rest of the year.

“I just spoke with newly-elected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. I congratulated the Speaker on his victory,” McConnell said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“We will be meeting soon to discuss the growing list of important business Congress must address in the coming weeks on behalf of the American people,” he said.

— Sarah Fortinsky

Democrats and abortion rights groups are seizing on the anti-abortion record of new House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and appear ready to use it as a cudgel against the GOP conference ahead of the 2024 elections.

Throughout the day Wednesday, as Republicans coalesced around Johnson, Democrats were quick to point out what they called extreme comments and positions on abortion from the new Speaker.  

“Mike Johnson, probably more so than almost any other member of the House Republican conference, wants to criminalize abortion care and impose a nationwide ban,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday during an event hosted by the Center for American Progress.

When Rep. Michael Lawler (R-N.Y.), one of the most vulnerable House Republicans, voted for Johnson, a Democrat in the chamber yelled “bye-bye!”

Democrats across the country are embracing a fight over abortion and are hoping to ride to victory with a sharp rise in voters who want to protect abortion access in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.  

READ MORE HERE.

— Nathaniel Weixel

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) signaled he was optimistic about finding common ground with new Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and pointed to their shared life experience as a possible vehicle to understanding each other better.

“Like Speaker Johnson, I lost my dad to cancer shortly before being elected to Congress,” Moskowitz said, striking a different note from most of his fellow Democrats. “I know how that story feels to live.”

“We disagree on plenty, but I hope that we can find common ground to fund a cancer moonshot, support our allies, and lower costs for American families,” he said.

— Sarah Fortinsky

Newly elected Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he intends to skip the usual ceremonies and celebrations that follow an election of a new Speaker and instead pledged to move forward with “an aggressive schedule in the days and weeks ahead.”

“We’re going to dispense with all the usual ceremonies and celebrations that traditionally follow a new Speakership because we have no time for either one,” he said, speaking at his first press conference after winning the Speaker’s gavel. “The American people’s business is too urgent in this moment.”

“You’re going to see Congress working as hard as it’s ever worked and we’re going to deliver for the American people,” Johnson said. “I’m grateful for this opportunity. I want to thank you for being patient with us. And I promise you, it’ll be worth it.”

— Sarah Fortinsky

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), a former Speaker nominee, called the chaotic last few weeks trying to elect a Speaker “one of the greatest experiences in recent history.”

“I know it’s been a long few weeks. From an outside point of view, these last few weeks probably look like total chaos, confusion, no end in sight,” Emmer said at a press conference following the election of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). “But from my perspective, this is one of the greatest experiences in the recent history of our republic.”

He praised the open process, calling it “a true display of what democracy looks like in action.”

“While Speaker’s races for the last 100 years have been conducted behind closed doors, filled with political promises and tyrannical threats against anyone who would not fall in line, the Speaker’s races under our House Republican majority have been open, honest, transparent,” he said.

“It took a while for us to get here, but our conference has shown that we achieve tremendous success when we work together as a team.”

— Sarah Fortinsky

Senate Republicans are relieved the House has a Speaker again — they just don’t know much about him.

Asked if he knew newly installed Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Sen. John Barrasso (Wyo.) responded, “No.”

The No. 3 Senate Republican conceded that what he knows about Johnson is “just what I’ve read in the papers and in the reports online in the last day.”

“I don’t know him at all,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said. “I heard his name, really, for the first time this week.”

The answers reflect both Johnson’s stunning rise and the chaos that has engulfed the House over the past three weeks.

READ MORE ABOUT WHAT SENATORS SAID HERE.

— Al Weaver

The House approved a resolution backing Israel and condemning Hamas on Wednesday, the first piece of legislation to clear the lower chamber in more than three weeks because of the extended Speaker stalemate.

The legislation, which spans four pages, was also the first measure approved under the leadership of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who clinched the gavel hours before the chamber voted on the resolution. He succeeded former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in the position after the California Republican was ousted from the top job earlier this month.

The House approved the resolution in a 412-10-6 vote, a strong show of support for Israel after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on the U.S. ally on Oct. 7, massacring more than 1,000 civilians in the south of the country, kidnapping more than 200 and raining thousands of rockets down across the country.

The resolution declares that the House “stands with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists” and “reaffirms Israel’s right to self-defense.” It also “condemns Hamas’ brutal war against Israel” and calls on the U.S.-designated terrorist group “to immediately cease these violent attacks and safely release all living hostages and return the bodies of deceased hostages.”

— Mychael Schnell and Laura Kelly

As he prepares to reopen the House to its normal functions, Johnson’s stance on a variety of issues has comes under a microscope.

Here are five things to know about Johnson:  

• Johnson has opposed Ukraine aid
• Johnson pushed to overturn 2020 election results 
• Johnson is an ally of Trump
• Johnson voted against the recent bill to keep the government open
• Johnson has a good relationship with conservatives

READ MORE ABOUT EACH OF THEM HERE.

— Miranda Nazzaro

Just hours after they broke a three-week stalemate and elected Mike Johnson (R-La.) to be Speaker, lawmakers are back to taking votes.

The House is voting on a resolution in support of Israel and condemning Hamas.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he looks forward to meeting with newly elected Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and plans to stress the importance of bipartisanship to avoid a government shutdown on Nov. 17.

“I look forward to meeting with Speaker Johnson soon to discuss the path forward to avoid a shutdown,” Schumer said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, after Johnson was elected to the House’s top position.

“I’ll convey that bipartisanship is the only way we can deliver results,” he continued. “The only way to avoid a shutdown, pass critical funding, deliver common-sense investments is bipartisanship.”

— Sarah Fortinsky

Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison predicted voters will reject the “MAGA extremism” under new House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) leadership, warning Johnson not to “get too comfortable.”

“House Republicans have finally landed on a new speaker: election denying, anti-abortion MAGA extremist Mike Johnson,” Harrison wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“Mike, don’t get too comfortable — voters have already rejected this MAGA extremism & they will do it again because they are sick and tired of this GOP clown show!”

— Sarah Fortinsky

Former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said he’s hopeful newly elected Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will be willing to work across the aisle.

“I think the sad fact was all three of the Republican leaders said during the course of this election, they wouldn’t work with Democrats. He didn’t say that. And I hope he doesn’t adopt that as a policy. Because after all, we’re half of the House. And if we weren’t half of the house, they would have elected somebody long before this,” Hoyer said.

“I hope for the House as an institution, I hope for the American people, he pursues the path that he articulated in his speech, of trying to bring us together, listening to one another, and hopefully acting on an agenda which represents the majority of Americans, not fractions of Americans.”

— Rebecca Beitsch

The Congressional Equality Caucus on Wednesday condemned the election of Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) as House Speaker, arguing that the congressman has a “demonstrated career” in attacking LGBTQ civil rights and “pushing an anti-equality agenda.”

“By electing Mike Johnson — a vehement opponent of LGBTQI+ equality — as Speaker, his supporters have signaled they want these attacks against our community to continue,” Equality Caucus Chair Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said Wednesday in a statement.

Johnson has a documented history of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. A CNN report published Wednesday found that Johnson in the mid-2000s wrote multiple editorials for his local Shreveport, La., newspaper, The Times, that called homosexuality an “inherently unnatural” and “dangerous lifestyle” that could upend “the entire democratic system.”

In 2022, he introduced a bill to prevent federal funds from being used for “sexually-oriented programs” for children, including events that touch on “any topic” related to sexual orientation or gender identity.

— Brooke Migdon

Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) said he’s optimistic Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will be given “grace” by members of the GOP conference as he works to tackle appropriations bills and other issues.

“I think it’s helpful that a number of the more stubborn members have said they are willing to give Speaker Johnson a little more grace and a little bit more of the benefit of the doubt. Clearly, trust has been an issue in the Republican conference. And there were lots of times where people held Speaker McCarthy accountable, frankly, something he hadn’t done,” Johnson said.

“Mike Johnson is going to be given a lot more flexibility to put together a legislative proposal to make sure that we secure the southern border, we cut spending, and we don’t shut the government down.”

Johnson’s comments about the new speaker come after Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (R-Pa.) said the caucus wouldn’t hold Johnson’s “feet to the fire” ahead of the government funding deadline of Nov. 17.

— Rebecca Beitsch

The Congressional Black Caucus has promised to “push back on House Republicans’ extreme MAGA ideologies” in light of Rep. Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) ascension to Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Though the election was “unsurprising,” said CBC Chair Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), he added that Johnson should have been disqualified for “plotting” with former President Trump to overturn the 2020 election. 

“We arrived at this moment because of House Republicans’ chaos which, for 22 days, spilled into public view and brought the House to a standstill,” Horsford said in a statement. 

“Instead of joining with House Democrats on charting a bipartisan path forward, House Republicans unanimously elected a Trump-backed extremist who wants to criminalize abortion and cut programs like Social Security and Medicare.”

Horsford and the entire CBC joined the rest of the Democratic Party in voting for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) for speaker. 

— Cheyanne M. Daniels