Mike Johnson was elected Speaker of the House, ending a 22-day GOP stalemate.

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On Wednesday, Republican Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana was chosen as the House of Representatives speaker after three weeks of crippling leadership crises in Congress.

Hard-right conservative and vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, Johnson had remained relatively unknown until this week, when he won the party’s nomination for speaker.

Despite becoming the GOP conference’s fourth nominee in two weeks, Johnson was chosen unanimously by the 220 Republicans who cast ballots, as the sharply divided party kept failing to field a candidate with sufficient support.

All Democrats who cast ballots on Wednesday supported Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. Johnson succeeded in uniting the GOP conference in support of his candidacy following the rejection of the three previous contenders, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota, by obstinate Republicans.

On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump endorsed Louisianan Johnson, giving his campaign a boost among Republicans.

He secured the support of several centrist Republicans in New York who had previously been hesitant to support some of the more extreme contenders for the presidency.

Serving his fourth term in Congress, Johnson will take the floor when the US government prepares to shut down, Israel fights Hamas, and Ukraine battles to repel Russia’s invasion.

To keep the government operating, the House must approve spending legislation by November 17; additionally, President Joe Biden has urged Congress to authorize emergency security aid for Israel and Ukraine.

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Johnson has previously opposed aid to Kyiv and voted against legislation in September that extended the government’s tenure until November. Earlier this month, the Republican from Louisiana stated that the House must do all within its power to assist Israel in eliminating Hamas.

Strongly conservative on social issues, Johnson took part in Republican attempts to void Biden’s 2020 election victory.

In an attempt to prevent the certification of Biden’s wins in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, he submitted a legal brief in favor of the action. Johnson then backed congressional protests against the certification of the 2020 presidential elections in Arizona and Pennsylvania.

Johnson was a member of Trump’s legal team for the first time during his impeachment.

In the past, he worked as a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Freedom, an extreme conservative advocacy group that files lawsuits to outlaw same-sex unions and restrict access to abortion.

 

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Sources: Getty Image