Newly elected Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., declared Wednesday that the House of Representatives was “back in business,” and vowed his first legislative action would be in support of Israel as it faces multiple threats.
“I want to thank you all for the trust that you have instilled in me to lead us in this historic and unprecedented moment that we’re in. The challenge before us is great, but the time for action is now, and I will not let you down,” he told his Republican colleagues in his first address to the House after winning the race for speaker.
Johnson became the first House speaker elected from the state of Louisiana after winning a 220-209 vote with the support of the entire Republican conference (minus one absence) while Democrats unanimously supported House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., as expected.
Representative Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, speaks after becoming US House speaker in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Johnson was the fourth GOP nominee vying for the role after numerous failed attempts to unite Republicans following former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster earlier this month.
“I want to say to the American people on behalf of all of us here: We hear you. We know the challenges you’re facing. We know that there’s alot going on in our country domestically and abroad, and we’re ready to get to work again to solve those problems, and we will,” Johnson said.
“Our mission here is to serve you well, to restore the people’s faith in this house, in this great and essential institution,” he added.
Then-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks to reporters just after the Republican majority in the House narrowly passed a sweeping debt ceiling package as they try to push President Joe Biden into negotiations on federal spending, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 26, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Johnson vowed the “first bill” he would bring to the House floor as speaker would be “in support of our dear friend Israel.”
“We are overdue in getting that done,” he said. “We are going to show not only Israel, but the entire world that the barbarism of Hamas that we have all seen play out on our television screens is wretched and wrong, and we are going to stand for the good in the conflict.”
He also promised to “immediately” form a bipartisan debt commission to address the nation’s growing debt crisis, and called on the House to come together to address the “broken” U.S. southern border.
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Israeli forces establish heavily armed control points along the border as Israel tightens measures by the army, police and other security forces after Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in Sderot, Israel. (Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Johnson dedicated part of his speech to thanking McCarthy for his dedication to “selfless public service,” and praised him as “the reason we are in this majority today.”
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“His impact can never be overstated,” he said.