The search is on for a new House Speaker

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Republicans reject Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker on a first ballot, signaling more turmoil ahead

WASHINGTON (AP) — More turmoil ahead, Republicans rejected Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker on a first ballot Tuesday, as an unexpectedly numerous 20 holdouts denied the hard-charging ally of Donald Trump the GOP majority needed to seize the gavel.

https://apnews.com/article/jim-jordan-house-speaker-mccarthy-trump-f2b2bf9dc834742bde93d5fc918d9940?

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Revenge of the moderates

After spending years in Congress as a thorn in the side of GOP leadership, Rep Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) finally got a taste of what it's like trying to cobble together an unruly majority.

Why it matters: The founding Freedom Caucus co-chair came closer to the speakership than many could have imagined, but he still fell 20 votes short of what he needed — matching former Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) worst ballot during January's historic 15-round election.

• This time, though, it was an eclectic coalition of Biden-district Republicans, institutionalists, McCarthy allies and other assorted rebels who stood in the way — not the usual gang of conservative hardliners.
• All 212 Democrats, meanwhile, remained united in support of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who has received the most votes in 12 of the 16 speaker ballots held this Congress.

State of play: Jordan is staying in the fight but has delayed the second ballot until 11 am ET tomorrow, after initially telling reporters he planned to hold it this evening.

• The delay will give Jordan a chance to keep whipping votes — and also hand more time to Fox News and conservative influencers to continue to carry out an aggressive pressure campaign against the holdouts.
• But that tactic could easily backfire: "The millisecond anybody tries to intimidate me is the moment I no longer have flexibility," said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), who voted for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.). "I have no intention of moving."

Between the lines: Jordan isn't working with an unlimited timetable like McCarthy was, with some Republicans speculating he may be bleeding support between ballots.

• "Let's see what happens," Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.) told Axios of her plans on the second ballot after voting for Jordan. "No one really knows."
• One House Republican who spoke on the condition of anonymity predicted Jordan will pick up "not more than 5-7" of his detractors on the second vote — which would still put him short of the gavel.

What we're hearing: Bipartisan discussions about how to end the two-week speaker vacancy are growing in seriousness, given the very real concern no candidate can obtain 217 Republican votes, Axios' Andrew Solender reports.

• Jeffries told reporters today there have been "informal conversations" he hopes "will accelerate this evening," given the sizable bloc of opposition Jordan faced in his first public test today.
• All eyes are on Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.). He views his role as constrained to electing a new speaker, but centrists in both parties have pushed to empower him to oversee legislative business.

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GOP’s Jim Jordan tries again to become House speaker, while his detractors consider options

WASHINGTON (AP) — Having lost the first vote to become House speaker, Rep. Jim Jordan will try again Wednesday on a decisive second ballot that will test whether the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump can win over detractors or if his bid for the gavel is collapsing.

https://apnews.com/article/jim-jordan-house-speaker-mccarthy-trump-994067b90a874ed46dd6a1766d89a163?

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?️ Speaker (pro tem) McHenry?

The Republican race for speaker has grown so wild, so uncertain, so contentious, the House just might settle for a de facto, short-term speaker in Rep. Patrick McHenry.

• Why it matters: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) looks like the latest dead man walking through a speaker race that seems unwinnable. He got 200 votes, with 217 needed. Sources tell us his chances are dim. 

The latest hot solution: Make Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), 47, currently the chair-warming speaker pro tempore, a temporary speaker. He'd have basically the same power as a real-deal elected speaker but need Democratic votes to hold the gig temporarily. 

• McHenry got two ironic endorsements late yesterday: former GOP speakers Newt Gingrich and John Boehner. Both were run out of office — just like Rep. Kevin McCarthy was a few weeks ago. 

? Between the lines: Punchbowl News notes that there's "essentially no difference between a speaker and a speaker pro tem":

"There is a question whether a speaker pro tem would be in the presidential line of succession. There are also questions about whether he could take part in other speaker functions that have evolved over the years — Gang of Eight intelligence briefings, for instance."

Go deeper.

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The Petty and Bitter Chaos of the House GOP’s Speaker Drama

House Republicans are no closer to resolving their speaker drama. In fact, they may be even further away.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-petty-and-bitter-chaos-of-the-house-gops-speaker-drama?

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GOP’s Jim Jordan fails again on vote for House speaker as frustrated Republicans search for options

WASHINGTON (AP) — Firebrand Republican Rep. Jim Jordan failed again Wednesday on a crucial second ballot to become House speaker, but the hard-fighting ally of Donald Trump showed no signs of dropping out despite losing support from even more of his GOP colleagues.

https://apnews.com/article/jim-jordan-house-speaker-mccarthy-trump-994067b90a874ed46dd6a1766d89a163?

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The zombie candidate

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) appears to be forging on — for now — with a third attempt to be elected speaker, despite winning fewer votes on today's ballot than any majority party's nominee in over a century.

Why it matters: Even former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who spent years building goodwill with the GOP conference — and weeks negotiating with his hardline critics — did not face this level of entrenched opposition.

• Jordan, a former collegiate wrestler who has staked out a reputation as a fighter, is so far refusing to accept the writing on the wall.
• His zombie campaign is betting that stamina will prevail over principle; Jordan's opponents, which include senior Republicans who are openly accusing him of "intimidation tactics," say he's wasting his time.

State of play: 22 House Republicans voted against Jordan on the second ballot, up from the 20 Republicans who voted against him on the first ballot.

• Democrats maintained their streak of unanimous support for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who has now received more than 3,600 votes across 17 ballots, according to the Washington Post's Aaron Blake.
• Jordan vowed to press on — noting that some of the Republicans who defected today had previously voted for him — with plans to hold another vote tomorrow afternoon.

Driving the news: Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a Biden-district Republican who has led the opposition to Jordan, provided texts to Politico showing his wife had been harassed by Jordan supporters seeking to flip his vote.

• "I believe he's done. He needs to withdraw from this. He's going to lose more votes tomorrow, I know it. I know who is going to cross over and change," Bacon told CNN.
• "It's time for Rep. Jordan to understand this race is over," Rep. John Rutherford (R-Fla.) said in a statement, accusing the GOP speaker nominee of "fiddling while the world is on fire."

Behind the scenes: Multiple GOP lawmakers confirmed to Axios' Juliegrace Brufke that they plan to flip their support from "yes" to "no" on future ballots — staggering their opposition to show Jordan there is no path forward.

• "The bleeding is going to get worse if there's a round three," one House Republican said.
• Some GOP holdouts have refused to meet with Jordan even as he has privately made promises on issues ranging from Ukraine funding to the SALT deduction cap — suggesting their opposition is a matter of a principle, not policy.

What to watch: Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) told Axios' Andrew Solender he's urging leadership to take GOP conference meetings "off-site" instead of holding another "therapy session" in the Capitol basement.

• "It sounds silly, but let's go to Gettysburg or something," Garcia suggested.

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The House speaker’s race hits an impasse as defeated GOP Rep. Jim Jordan wants to try again  Refusing to drop out, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan has brought the House speaker’s race to a stalemate — the hard-fighting ally of Donald Trump has been unable to win the gavel but he and his far-right allies won’t step aside for a more viable GOP nominee. Read more.

Why this matters: Jordan is known more as a chaos agent than a skilled legislator, raising questions about how he would lead, particularly as Congress faces daunting challenges ranging from a federal shutdown to aid requests to help Ukraine and Israel in wars abroad.   Frustrated Republicans are now looking at other options, with some lawmakers floating novel ways to operate the House like giving the interim speaker, Rep. Patrick McHenry, more power to reopen the immobilized House and temporarily conduct routine business.

Related coverage ➤ Whether Jim Jordan wins the speakership or not, voters in his Ohio district will stand by their man House Republicans are mired in chaos after ousting McCarthy and rejecting Scalise. What’s next? WATCH: Hundreds gathered at the U.S. Capitol to call for a cease fire in Israel-Hamas war

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GOP’s Jordan says he’s still running for House gavel, but plan for a temporary speaker falls flat

WASHINGTON (AP) — Refusing to give up, Rep. Jim Jordan told GOP colleagues Thursday he was still running for the House gavel — leaving Republicans few viable options after his hardline backers resisted a plan to expand the temporary speaker’s powers to re-open the House.

https://apnews.com/article/jim-jordan-house-speaker-mccarthy-trump-abdef873a8d14979848b658e4ef46fd2?

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Escape hatch implodes

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) woke up this morning expecting to hold a third vote on his ill-fated bid for House speaker.

• By 11 am ET, Jordan had decided instead to endorse centrist Republicans' plan to empower Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) until January, while remaining the GOP's speaker designate.
• By 3pm, Jordan had dropped the plan after dozens of his conservative allies had expressed outrage at the idea, calling it a "betrayal" to Republican voters who entrusted them with the majority.

Why it matters: In a saga that has featured no shortage of chaos, dysfunction and humiliation, House Republicans' civil war may have somehow reached a new low.

• The path of least resistance — empowering McHenry to allow votes on short-term government funding and aid to Ukraine and Israel — turned out to be a red line for vast swaths of the GOP conference.
• The reason: The move would require Republicans to effectively enter a coalition with Democrats, viewed as the same type of cardinal sin that resulted in former Speaker Kevin McCarthy's ouster 16 days ago.

The intrigue: Jordan, who one lawmaker called "the second most popular Republican in this country" other than Donald Trump, found himself in the crosshairs of his conservative allies today.

• "We don't deserve the majority," Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) told reporters, calling the plan a "historic betrayal" and "the biggest 'F you' to Republican voters."
• Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a Jordan supporter who led the charge to oust McCarthy, called the plan a "constitutional desecration."

What they're saying: "We made the pitch to members on the resolution as a way to lower the temperature," Jordan said with a grim chuckle this afternoon.

• "We decided that wasn't where we're gonna go. I'm still running for speaker and I plan to go to the floor and get the votes and win this race," he added, vowing to meet with the 22 Republicans who opposed him on the last ballot.

Zoom in: Those meetings could not have gone worse.

• Of the Republican holdouts who showed up to hear Jordan out this afternoon — and not all of them did — none appeared to be moved by his appeals.
• "Our mind is set. He needed to know there is no way forward to the speakership," said Rep. John Rutherford (R-Fla.), one of several Republicans who urged Jordan to drop out during the meeting.

State of play: After hours of uncertainty over whether Jordan would drop out, he announced plans this evening to hold a third ballot tomorrow at 10am.

Go deeper

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GOP’s Jordan says he’s still running for House gavel, but plan for a temporary speaker falls flat

WASHINGTON (AP) — Refusing to give up, Rep. Jim Jordan told GOP colleagues Thursday he was still running for the House gavel — leaving Republicans few viable options after his hardline backers resisted a plan to expand the temporary speaker’s powers to re-open the House.

https://apnews.com/article/jim-jordan-house-speaker-mccarthy-trump-abdef873a8d14979848b658e4ef46fd2?

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Some U.S. Reps. face threatening tactics, pressure campaigns; 4 FL members appear unscathed so far

The 4 GOP Reps. didn’t choose Jim Jordan for U.S. House speaker on Wednesday

https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/10/19/some-u-s-reps-face-threatening-tactics-pressure-campaigns-4-fl-members-appear-unscathed-so-far/?

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks says she received death threats after speaker vote against Jordan

U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks received death threats and a “barrage of threatening calls” after not supporting Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker, the Iowa Republican said Wednesday.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/10/19/rep-mariannette-miller-meeks-says-she-received-death-threats-after-speaker-vote-against-jordan/?

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House Republicans drop Jim Jordan as their nominee for speaker, stumbling back to square one

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans abruptly dropped Rep. Jim Jordan on Friday as their nominee for House speaker, making the decision during a closed-door session after the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump failed badly on a third ballot for the gavel.

https://apnews.com/article/speaker-jordan-republican-mchenry-2e32f930b4fb83a4fcae2171c9e1c055?

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Bookman: Without compromise, extremism dominates

If you make compromise impossible, you make extremism inevitable.

https://georgiarecorder.com/2023/10/19/bookman-without-compromise-enshrined-in-constitution-extremism-dominates/?

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?️ Race for House gavel grows to NINE

Chart: Axios Visuals House Republicans will hear today from nine lawmakers vying to be the next speaker of the House, with a candidate forum that ushers in a grueling day of voting tomorrow, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke reports. Why it matters: Candidates will be given just minutes to pitch themselves as the best option to unify the fractured House GOP — which is going on three weeks without a speaker. Keep reading.

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It’s Day 20 with no House speaker, and lower-level names seek Trump’s support and race for the gavel

WASHINGTON (AP) — On Day 20 without a House speaker, Republicans found themselves starting over on Monday — bumbling ahead with few ideas about who will lead, what they are fighting over and when they will get Congress working again.

https://apnews.com/article/house-speaker-republicans-emmer-mccarthy-b4eceb0487c51de6695ecd1e49172f17?

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Your guide to the speaker's race — part IV

Kevin McCarthy's ouster as House speaker has led Republicans on the political journey of a lifetime — rife with plot twists, petty feuds, and even acknowledgments by GOP lawmakers that their party is not fit to govern.

Why it matters: 20 days later, the "broken" Republican conference is back where it started — hosting a closed-door forum to hear from candidates who may or may not be able to win 217 votes on the House floor.

State of play: Eight Republicans may be making their pitch to the conference tonight, but top GOP sources generally see it as a four-man race. Here's a quick breakdown:

1. Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.): The No. 3 House Republican in leadership (pre-McCarthy removal) is widely considered the next man up after GOP Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) stepped aside without a floor vote.

• Emmer, the head of the House GOP's campaign committee during the 2022 midterms, is a strong fundraiser trusted by vulnerable freshmen who represent battleground districts.
• Emmer has relationships across the conference's ideological factions, but his votes in favor of protecting same-sex marriage and certifying the 2020 election have alienated some conservatives.

2. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.): The Freedom Caucus Republican has strong support from conservatives, and his lack of experience in leadership could give him a leg up over Emmer among members who want fresh blood.

• Donalds has already won endorsements from Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Carlos A. Giménez (R-Fla.) — both of whom were key to sinking Rep. Jim Jordan's (R-Ohio) speaker bid.
• Donalds has only been in Congress since 2021, however, and some members fear he doesn't have the fundraising infrastructure that lawmakers count on their speaker delivering.

3. GOP Vice Conference Chair Mike Johnson (R-La.): A well-liked member of leadership, Johnson is widely viewed as a policy-oriented and principled conservative — if not a bit milquetoast.

• Some moderates don't like that Johnson led the amicus brief signed by more than 100 House Republicans in support of a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn the 2020 election results in four swing states.
• He also faces a geographical hurdle: Scalise, who would still be the No. 2 House Republican if Johnson is elected, is also from Louisiana.

4. Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern (R-Okla.): The head of the largest bloc of House conservatives is a former McDonalds franchisee who has been handing out cheeseburgers alongside his one-page pitch.

• Hern's role as RSC chair means he has already laid out plenty of policy proposals supported by conservatives, but he faces skepticism from moderates and McCarthy allies.

The intrigue: Trump allies have been circulating extensive opposition research in an effort to tank Emmer's bid, even as the former president himself signaled today he'll be staying out of the race this time around.

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There’s a long list of candidates for House speaker as Republicans try voting again on a new leader Having dispatched their speaker then rejected two popular figures as replacements, the House Republicans on Tuesday will be voting instead on a hodgepodge of lesser-known congressmen for speaker in hopes of resolving what’s now a governing crisis that’s preventing the normal operations of Congress. Read more.

Why this matters: The candidate list is jumbled with no obvious choice for the job. Most of those running for speaker are conservatives and election deniers who either voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results or joined a subsequent lawsuit challenging the results.   The federal government risks a shutdown in a matter of weeks if Congress fails to pass funding legislation by Nov. 17. More immediately, President Joe Biden has asked Congress to provide $105 billion in aid to help Israel and Ukraine and to shore up the U.S. border with Mexico. Federal aviation and farming programs also face expiration without action.

Related coverage ➤  Biden is dangling border security money to try to get billions more for Israel and Ukraine WATCH: Meet the nine Republicans who are running for the House speaker

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? Breaking: Emmer drops out

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) abruptly dropped out of the speaker race four hours after he became the GOP nominee, Axios' Andrew Solender writes.

• Why it matters: He's the third GOP nominee to fall short during the House's three-week speaker vacancy.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), who narrowly lost to Emmer earlier this afternoon, is now a likely front-runner in the next round.

• Emmer — a relative moderate — faced animosity from former President Trump, who said that voting for him "would be a tragic mistake."

Keep reading.

Tom Emmer withdraws bid for House speaker hours after winning nomination, leaving new cycle of chaos

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep. Tom Emmer abruptly abandoned his bid to become House speaker Tuesday, withdrawing within hours of winning the internal party nomination after Donald Trump objected and hardliners refused to support him for the gavel.

https://apnews.com/article/house-speaker-republicans-emmer-mccarthy-c7ddb6abf4c7322f9fc44fdaa07791fc?

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GOP's accelerating doom loop

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) dropped out of the House speaker's race barely four hours after winning the Republican nomination today, a staggering new milestone in the GOP's cycle of self-destruction.

Why it matters: In the three weeks since former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was unceremoniously ousted, three Republican nominees have come and gone. The House remains paralyzed with no clear escape hatch.

How we got here: Emmer prevailed over an initial field of seven candidates in a five-round vote this morning, defeating Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), the vice chair of the GOP conference, by a margin of 117-97.

• Emmer then requested an internal roll call vote to determine whether 217 Republicans would support him, hoping to save the House — and himself — from a fruitless floor vote if GOP opposition appeared insurmountable.
• At least 20 mostly conservative Republicans said they would oppose Emmer, citing his past votes to certify the 2020 election, protect same-sex marriage and avert a government shutdown.

A late intervention from Trump — whose allies had already been aggressively whipping against Emmer and virtually any candidate perceived to be part of "the establishment" — proved to be the death knell.

• Minutes after withdrawing his bid at a 4pm GOP conference meeting, Emmer walked briskly out the door, out of the Capitol and into an SUV — declining to say a word to the trail of reporters following him.
• The conference immediately moved on as if this was standard procedure, calling for members to enter the race by 5:30pm in time for a 6pm candidate forum and an 8pm vote.

State of play: Johnson is viewed as the new front-runner after coming in second place Tuesday morning.

• Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, is also expected to have strong support after coming in third.
• Homeland Security Chair Mark E. Green (R-Tenn.) and Reps. Roger Williams (R-Texas) and Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) are running as a first-time candidates.

Between the lines: Republicans have effectively decapitated their own leadership, ousting McCarthy while blocking House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Emmer — the GOP whip — from ascending to the speakership.

• Moderates and establishment-minded Republicans — furious about the treatment of McCarthy and Scalise — took out their vengeance by blocking Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the candidate favored by the MAGA insurgents.
• Inside the GOP conference, Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) appealed for unity and called for the cycle of retribution to end — no simple task for this hopelessly divided and frustrated conference.

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⚡ Trump tanks Emmer

As former President Trump sat in a courtroom on the biggest day of his civil fraud trial, he fired off a social media post that effectively detonated Emmer's chances of ever winning the gavel.

Why it matters: 24 hours earlier, Trump told reporters had "always gotten along" with Emmer and signaled he was planning to stay out of the race.

• That is, until the former president saw an opportunity to flex his muscle over an outcome that was already trending in a negative direction — nuking Emmer and inflicting maximum chaos in the process.

What they're saying: "I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors. RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them," Trump wrote in a scathing statement on Truth Social.

• "He never respected the Power of a Trump Endorsement, or the breadth and scope of MAGA ... Voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake!"

The big picture: Trump hasn't played a direct role in the three weeks of Republican infighting that have paralyzed the House, even as his allies — particularly Steve Bannon — have aggressively targeted anti-establishment candidates.

• Trump's endorsement of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) — who was removed as the GOP's speaker nominee after losing three consecutive floor votes — has raised speculation about the former president's waning influence.
• The reality is more of a mixed bag: Trump's grassroots supporters are the ones driving the the push for radical retribution in Congress, but the MAGA movement's leader can still deliver a closing punch.

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Mike Johnson is the latest nominee for House speaker as Republican infighting shows no end Republicans chose Rep. Mike Johnson as their latest nominee for House speaker desperate to unite their fractious majority and end the chaos, just hours after an earlier pick abruptly withdrew in the face of opposition from Donald Trump. When the House convenes at noon Wednesday before a floor vote, Johnson will need almost all Republicans in the public roll call to win the gavel. Read more.

Why this matters: Refusing to unify, far-right members won’t accept a more traditional speaker and moderate conservatives don’t want a hard-liner. While Johnson had no opponents during the private roll call, around two dozen Republicans didn’t vote, more than enough to sink his nomination.   Many hardliners have been resisting a leader who voted for the budget deal that McCarthy struck with President Joe Biden earlier this year, which set federal spending levels that far-right Republicans don’t agree with and now want to undo. They are pursuing steeper cuts to federal programs and services with next month’s funding deadline.

Related coverage ➤  North Carolina Republicans close in on new districts seeking to fortify GOP in Congress, legislature WATCH: Rep. Tom Emmer withdraws bid for House speaker hours after winning GOP nomination

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?️ Thank U, Next! GOP nominates Mike Johnson for speaker

At 9:55 p.m. ET, House Republican Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson (R-La.) won an internal vote to become the fourth GOP nominee for speaker since Oct. 11. Now he faces a floor vote.

• Why it matters: The House speaker vacancy has torpedoed Congress' ability to pass legislation during a period of global upheaval and as a government shutdown draws near.

Johnson, 51, a conservative lawyer who is son of a Shreveport firefighter, said he plans to advance to a full House floor vote this afternoon, saying "this group is ready to govern."

• Johnson won with 128 votes to 29 for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) + 44 for "other" — including 43 for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who wasn't formally running.

Go deeper: Who is Mike Johnson?!

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Mike Johnson, a staunch Louisiana conservative, is elected House speaker as GOP moves past chaos

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans unanimously elected Rep. Mike Johnson as House speaker on Wednesday, eagerly elevating a deeply conservative but lesser-known leader to the major seat of U.S. power and ending for now the weeks of political chaos in their majority.

https://apnews.com/article/house-speaker-republicans-emmer-mccarthy-54352a64be041cd445bda8df28b24f03?

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MAGA gets its speaker

Call it a Cinderella story: Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), a four-term congressman who has never chaired a committee, was elected speaker of the House with unanimous Republican support — achieving a feat that few thought possible.

Why it matters: Politics is personal. After 22 days of paralysis and three failed nominees, the only candidate capable of uniting House Republicans was one who apparently hasn't served long enough to make any enemies.

• Case in point: Johnson is a Trump ally with a remarkably similar voting record to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), yet he managed to win over all 25 Republicans who voted against Jordan for speaker last week.
• That includes moderate Republicans and members who represent districts President Biden won in 2020 — but who still felt comfortable voting for the most conservative House speaker in at least 80 years.

Driving the news: As Johnson accepted the gavel and addressed the House floor for the first time as speaker, it was easy to see how the folksy, mild-mannered Louisiana Republican could command trust from every faction of the GOP conference.

• "Let the enemies of freedom around the world hear us loud and clear: The People's House is back in business," Johnson declared to raucous applause from Republicans — and even some Democrats.
• But make no mistake: Johnson is a staunch conservative whose election denialism, support for a national abortion ban, and opposition to Ukraine aid will move the House's center of gravity firmly to the right.

Zoom in: In December 2020, Johnson led an amicus brief signed by more than 100 House Republicans in support of a failed Texas lawsuit that sought to invalidate Biden's election victory in four swing states.

• Johnson also trafficked in a baseless conspiracy theory in November 2020 about "rigged" Dominion voting machines allegedly having ties to deceased Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez.
• When Johnson was asked about his efforts to overturn the election at a press conference last night, House Republicans shouted down a reporter and told her to "shut up."

Between the lines: The election of a new conservative speaker is being celebrated by the GOP hardliners who triggered the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Oct 3.

• "If you don't think that moving from Kevin McCarthy to MAGA Mike Johnson shows the ascendance of this movement and where the power in the Republican Party truly lies, then you're not paying attention," Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) argued on Steve Bannon's podcast.
• "There is a new level of trust with Speaker Johnson that did not exist previously. That's why we have a new speaker. He is a conservative partner," Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) told reporters.
• "We've been called a lot of names through this entire process. One of them was 'The Crazy Eight,'" said Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.). "I'm crazy enough to believe that this town could actually change."