Trumpist Republican becomes new Speaker of US House of Representatives
Pravda Ukraine
The US House of Representatives elected a new speaker, Mike Johnson, on 25 October after several weeks of attempts. He is a representative of the Republican majority and a supporter of former President Donald Trump.
Source: European Pravda, citing CNN
Details: Johnson, who was the fourth nominee of the House majority for speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress over the past three weeks, won the support of 220 party members, thus exceeding the minimum 218 required. As in previous rounds of voting, the Democratic Party representatives unanimously supported their minority House leader, Hakeem Jeffries.
51-year-old Mike Johnson has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2016 and has been serving as vice-chair of the House Republicans. He represents one of the most conservative districts in Louisiana and is himself considered a supporter of extreme right-wing views.
Johnson is also known for supporting former US President Donald Trump, who approved his candidacy. He led Trump’s legal defence during impeachment in the House of Representatives and asked the US Supreme Court to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The Republicans for Ukraine initiative gave Mike Johnson the lowest rating in terms of support for Ukraine – F. He voted only for granting Ukraine a lend-lease and consistently supported initiatives to reduce aid to Kyiv.
Background:
The House of Representatives has been without a speaker since 3 October, when Kevin McCarthy resigned from the post of Speaker of the House. This happened under pressure from the far-right wing of his Republican Party, where McCarthy was accused of collaborating with Democrats and a “secret deal” to help Ukraine.
After that, the Republicans nominated the far-right James Jordan and moderate Tom Emmer, but both were forced to withdraw their candidacies due to lack of support.
The US House of Representatives cannot pass new laws, including those on aid to Ukraine, without a speaker. The interim US federal budget is only supposed to last until mid-November, so to avoid a shutdown, Congress must resolve this issue. That is why the personality of the speaker of the lower house of Congress is also important for Kyiv.
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