Opinion: Speaker Mike Johnson sings 'Kumbaya' with the Democrats Los Angeles Times

Table Of Content

• House voting now to pass resolution in support of Israel in war against Hamas
• Editorial: Netanyahu’s government is to blame for rift in historic Israel-U.S. alliance
• House recesses ahead of vote on Israel resolution
• Who voted to oust McCarthy as speaker? See the final tally of the House roll call
• Jeffries
• Trump’s lawyers seek to discredit testimony of prosecution’s lead witness in hush money trial
• Editorial: Speaker Mike Johnson’s Ukraine aid bill is better late than never

The reference was to allegations that Gaetz paid for sex, including relations with an underage girl, while in Congress. The Justice Department investigated the Florida lawmaker and decided not to bring charges. “He wants to hold to account those who pushed him out,” said a Central Valley political operative, who has a decades-long relationship with McCarthy. The package includes several Republican priorities that Democrats endorse, or at least are willing to accept.

House voting now to pass resolution in support of Israel in war against Hamas

House Republicans are expected to vote within their conference for a new speaker nominee this evening. "Members are advised that House Republicans are planning to adjourn and votes are no longer expected in the House today," a notice from House Minority Whip Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts said. There was a potential sign of trouble for Johnson — McCarthy, who was not a declared candidate, received 43 votes in the final round of voting, well more than the 29 votes won by Rep. Byron Donalds, who was an  official finalist in the race. Washington — Rep. Mike Johnson won the GOP nomination for House speaker Tuesday night, defeating Rep. Byron Donalds and becoming the fourth speaker designate selected by his party since Rep. Kevin McCarthy's historic removal as speaker — and the second in a single day. Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota declined Tuesday to say whether former President Donald Trump was a factor in his decision to end his bid for the speakership. Rep. Carlos Giménez of Florida, who supported McCarthy over Jordan, called Johnson a "straightforward leader" who can unite the Republican conference in a post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

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Editorial: Netanyahu’s government is to blame for rift in historic Israel-U.S. alliance

If McCarthy prevails, Congress will hand off power and influence from a California Democrat — Pelosi — to a California Republican. If he doesn’t, both leaders could be relegated to the back benches — one by choice and the other by force. With President Biden in the White House and Democrats retaining control of the Senate, Washington could see a return to gridlock, outside of must-pass legislation for government funding and raising the debt ceiling.

House recesses ahead of vote on Israel resolution

A day ago, Trump declined to endorse in this round and said he was "trying to stay out of it." In the last round, Trump endorsed Rep. Jim Jordan, who failed to secure enough support on the floor to win the gavel. Rep. Mike Johnson, who came in second to Emmer in the final ballot, told reporters he's trying to help Emmer flip the remaining holdouts. Emmer can only afford four defections in a vote on the House floor to still win the speakership. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida proclaimed on social media that she would not be supporting Emmer in a floor vote. Rep. Ralph Norman said Republicans would expedite the candidate forum by having candidates each give just one-minute speeches before votes begin.

Shortly after 1 p.m., the House began voting for speaker, with Johnson as the Republican nominee and Jeffries as the Democratic nominee. Before the vote in the House, Johnson said he had not spoken to the president, but said he assumed he would soon. In a press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House, President Biden welcomed news of Johnson's election. "There are many throughout this country who are understandably alarmed at the turbulence of the moment, at the chaos, the dysfunction and the extremism that has been unleashed in this chamber from the very beginning of this Congress," he said. Jeffries closed his remarks declaring, "Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. He's doing a great job under difficult circumstances and no amount of election denialism will ever change that reality. Not now. Not ever."

Jeffries

McCarthy is a political animal down to his marrow and the speakership is a job he coveted much of his career. His tenure — less than nine months — lasted barely long enough to pose for the portrait that will someday hang in the Capitol. Twenty-five Republicans voted against the fourth bill, which included measures that could lead to a ban on TikTok in the United States and that would redirect funds from seized Russian assets to help aid Ukraine. Democrats put up a big vote — 174 — in favor of this bill, which was intended to sweeten the overall package for conservatives. The plan, laid out in a rule that passed on Friday, was concocted to capitalize on the pools of support for each part of the $95 billion package, while preventing opposition to any one piece from taking down all of them. Still, the all-out push to get the bills through Congress is a reflection not only of politics, but realities on the ground in Ukraine.

We’re counting on your continued support and further U.S. assistance to bring our common victory closer. The Democratic whip just sent out a note reminding members that they must be present on the House floor to be sworn in and reminding members to remain on the floor after McCarthy’s speech. After days of a bare stone wall, the Speaker McCarthy sign has been hung outside the office. The dissidents praised the protracted debate that spotlighted their party’s rifts, made it impossible for legislative business to be conducted and threatened the timely issuance of paychecks on Capitol Hill. The somber anniversary did not lead to comity on the House floor, as Mr. McCarthy’s fiercest holdout accused him in a bombastic speech of performing a fruitless exercise in vanity. The prolonged election prompted tension and uncertainty in the Capitol, where lawmakers in both parties had grown impatient and bored awaiting the outcome of a high-stakes struggle that seemed at once monumental and absurd.

Editorial: Speaker Mike Johnson’s Ukraine aid bill is better late than never

As the voting dragged on, it became clear that Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, who has emerged as Mr. McCarthy’s chief adversary, would become the deciding vote. And when Mr. Gaetz voted “present,” depriving Mr. McCarthy of the majority support he needed, the California Republican blanched, stood up from his seat and walked across the House floor to speak to Mr. Gaetz himself. Those compromises delivered a breakthrough for Mr. McCarthy, who in votes on Friday afternoon won support from a sizable chunk of the Republicans who had consistently refused to back him — though he remained short of the majority to win. Despite the divisions on display, Mr. McCarthy also emphasized the theme of unity in a speech after taking the speaker’s gavel, pledging open debate and an open door to both Republicans and Democrats. Republicans have now spurned all three of their top leaders over the past few weeks.

And Ukrainians were braced for at least a short-term redoubling of the near-nightly pummeling of cities and towns across the country with missiles and drones — which in recent weeks was exacerbated by an alarming depletion of Ukrainian air defenses. An angry Russia could try to get in more punishing attacks before more air-defense help arrives, some feared. Planned Parenthood officials vowed to continue providing abortions while they are still legal and said they will reinforce networks that help patients travel to places such as New Mexico and California to access abortion. One faction, comprising an overwhelming majority of the House GOP caucus, is interested in accomplishing the possible. The other is more interested in aiming for the impossible and then complaining about falling short. That Democrats would save a Republican speaker is almost inconceivable, and it’s the ultimate evidence that we’ve got a coalition government in the House.

Mr. Johnson was only able to emerge as his party’s nominee for speaker this week after three other G.O.P. nominees before him were unable to rally enough support. A bloc of Republicans had objected to the speaker bid of Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, the hard-right co-founder of the Freedom Caucus, because of his role in helping lead Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the election. Asked if he would bring a vote to oust Johnson if he put forth a short-term spending bill at current spending levels, Rep. Matt Gaetz said he’s optimistic Johnson will be able to actually pass the individual spending bills. The Senate and the White House are still controlled by Democrats and any spending bill passed will need Democratic support to become law and avert a shutdown. But what you hear from conservatives – at least in the minutes before and after Johnson won the speaker’s election – is they are willing to give some room for Johnson to maneuver in his new role. After three weeks without a speaker, the House voted Wednesday to elect Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana.

He told reporters Johnson had 84 votes, and 31 votes were cast for other candidates. Mr. McCarthy won the speakership in January after a marathon 15 rounds of voting. Won a closed-door vote to become the Republican nominee for speaker, but withdrew his candidacy after failing to win over holdouts before a floor vote. Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, who voted for Majority Leader Steve Scalise on each of the three ballots during House voting last week, said he plans to back Johnson when the lower chamber convenes to elect a new speaker. The four absences mean Johnson will need 215 votes to win the speakership if all members in the chamber vote for a candidate.

Trump seemed to acknowledge his role in killing Emmer's quest for the gavel, as he shared on his social media platform an article from Politico about how the former president "torpedoed" the bid. GOP lawmakers who withheld their support for Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio during his three rounds of voting on the House floor are beginning to line up behind Johnson. "House Democrats believe that when members of the body voted to reject the results of the 2020 election, they forfeited their ability to lead this chamber," Aguilar said. He accused GOP lawmakers of working to find a candidate for speaker who can pass their "extreme litmus test" opposing marriage equality, cutting Social Security and Medicare, and enacting nationwide restrictions on abortion. He noted that Democrats provided support for legislation to raise the debt ceiling, avoid a government shutdown and provide disaster relief funding.

Several Republicans in both chambers joined Democrats in securing earmarks in the roughly $1.7 trillion government funding package that became law last month, with more than 7,200 projects in the bill. The protracted fight foreshadowed how difficult it would be for him to govern with an exceedingly narrow majority and an unruly hard-right faction bent on slashing spending and disrupting business in Washington. The speakership struggle that crippled the House before it had even opened its session suggested that basic tasks such as passing government funding bills or financing the federal debt would prompt epic struggles over the next two years. The challenge for House Republicans is they still have eight more spending bills to pass including two that have been stuck in committee because of disagreements within GOP ranks. In his letter to colleagues, Johnson set out an aggressive time table for passing the bills, but the issue will be finding a way to pass the legislation in just a narrow GOP majority.

"We need to move swiftly to address our national security needs and to avoid a shutdown in 22 days. Even though we have real disagreements about important issues, there should be mutual effort to find common ground wherever we can," the president said. "This is a time for all of us to act responsibly, and to put the good of the American people and the everyday priorities of American families above any partisanship." Mr. Gaetz said on Tuesday that lawmakers should not give the post to somebody willing to sell “shares of himself to get” it.