After more than three weeks without a leader, the House of Representatives voted 220 to 209 Wednesday to elect hard-right conservative Mike Johnson as speaker. All House Republicans voted for Johnson. The Louisiana congressmember was closely involved in Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including voting against the certification of election results and leading the amicus brief in support of a Texas lawsuit that attempted to toss out results in four swing states. Johnson is a Christian fundamentalist who opposes abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. He has proposed trillions of dollars in cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. He spoke Tuesday after being sworn in.

Speaker Mike Johnson: “I believe that Scripture, the Bible is very clear that God is the one that raises up those in authority. He raised up each of you, all of us. And I believe that God has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific moment in this time.”

​​In its first legislative business after a three-week standstill, the House overwhelmingly approved a resolution backing Israel and condemning Hamas. The vote was 412 to 10.