The ultraconservative and low-key Louisianian's pick completed an unpredictable day and gave Republicans hope of breaking the weeks-long stalemate that has crippled the House.
To overcome the astonishing three-week standoff that has left Congress leaderless and paralyzed, House Republicans nominated and then rapidly disowned yet another of their choices for speaker on Tuesday and raced to name a fourth.
After his nomination, Mr. Johnson stood with hundreds of other Republicans in solidarity, saying, "Democracy is messy, but it's our system." “This House Republican majority is united.”
The selection of Mr. Johnson, 51, was the latest abrupt turn in a chaotic leadership battle among House Republicans, who have leapt from mainstream conservative to far-right rabble rouser to mainstream conservative to conservative hard-liner, revealing their divisions.
Former Republican Study Committee chairman and social conservative lawyer Mr. Johnson. He worked on Trump's impeachment defense team, got House Republicans to sign a legal brief supporting a lawsuit to invalidate the 2020 election results, and helped him dispute its certification in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.
Mr. Johnson grinned and shook his head, saying, “next question,” as Republicans booed on Tuesday night when reporters asked about his election overturning attempts.
Mr. Johnson, an evangelical Christian, proposed legislation last year that would prohibit federally funded institutions serving children under 10 from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity.
His opposition to supporting the Ukraine conflict has become a nasty fault line in the G.O.P. and in the spending challenges any new speaker will face in the coming days.
On Tuesday night, Mr. Johnson received 128 secret-ticket votes, with 44 Republicans voting for nominees not on the ballot, including 43 for Mr. McCarthy, whom many believe was unfairly evicted. In a separate vote later, just a few Republicans opposed Mr. Johnson on the floor, while 20 were missing.
I think he's learnt his lesson because he's stating he's 100% pro-Trump, but who knows? Mr. Trump wrote. Has he changed solely to win? The Republican Party cannot risk that because America First Voters are not there. A Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a terrible choice!