Who is new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson?

House Republicans elected Rep Mike Johnson (R-LA) to be the next speaker of the House, 22 days after the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Mr Johnson, the former deputy whip, won 220 votes on the floor after House Republicans coalesced around him on Tuesday evening. His ascent came after House Majority Whip Tom Emmer dropped out a mere four hours after the House Republican conference nominated him to be speaker.

Republicans from all factions of the conference cheered Mr Johnson and whistled on the floor, chanting his name.

Mr Johnson was first elected to Congress in 2016. For two years he was chair of the Republican Study Committee and in 2021 year became the vice chair of the House Republican Conference. Mr Johnson is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and serves on the Judiciary Committee.

A former attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom, Mr Johnson is considered an arch-social conservative staunchly opposed to abortion. Earlier this year, he introduced legislation that would have made it illegal to transport a person under the age of 18 across state lines to obtain an abortion without parental notification.

He is also an ardent opponent of LGBT+ rights. Rep Angie Craig (D-MN), the first openly gay mother in Congress, said “Happy anniversary to my wife,” before casting her vote for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries during the House vote to elect Mr Johnson speaker on Wednesday (25 October).

In December 2020, Mr Johnson, a lawyer by trade, filed an amicus brief on behalf of himself and 125 other House Republicans for a lawsuit filed by Texas to overturn the election results in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Despite his hard-right bent, many Republicans from swing districts cast their