Lawmakers honor House clerk who served during chaos of Jan. 6 and McCarthy speaker votes

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers on Tuesday honored the official charged with maintaining order in the House during two of the chamber’s most tumultuous moments — the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and last year’s longest race for House speaker since before the Civil War.

Cheryl Johnson, the 36th House clerk, was presented with the 2023 Freedom Award from the United States Capitol Historical Society. The award honors those who exhibit extraordinary dedication to freedom, democracy and representative government.

Leading the ceremony were the two former House speakers who benefitted most from her work as the House’s lead administrator — Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi and former Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy.

Pelosi was speaker when a violent mob breached the Capitol and delayed the counting of the electoral college votes, delaying certification for several hours. And McCarthy became speaker early last year after 15 rounds of voting. He would subsequently become the first speaker to be ousted by colleagues and resigned in December.

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