The House on brink of approving aid for Ukraine and Israel Los Angeles Times

Table Of Content

• Calmes: MAGA Mike sings a chorus of ‘Kumbaya’ with the Democrats, but for how long?
• Calmes: Kevin McCarthy would do anything to be House speaker. That’s the problem
• Conservative opposition to Emmer emerges
• Ambition keeps him loyal to Donald Trump. But what does Kevin McCarthy stand for?
• Here’s what to watch for in the 14th round of voting for House speaker.
• Republicans nominate Mike Johnson for speaker after spurning Emmer.
• Mike Johnson is now House speaker. Here’s the latest.
• House adjourns for second day without electing a speaker. Here's what you need to know

How the weeks-long stalemate between the majority of the House Republican Conference and the growing pocket of GOP antagonists will be resolved remains unclear. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. Senate Republicans are expected to hold their internal leadership elections Wednesday, though some Republicans have said it should be postponed until after the Dec. 6 runoff between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and former football star Herschel Walker, a Republican. That race, however, will only determine whether Democrats have a 50-seat majority or a 51-seat majority. Even a small majority would empower Republicans to launch investigations into the Biden administration and pass messaging bills to excite the base of Republican voters. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told NBC News that he would be willing to work with Democrats to elect a moderate Republican to the speakership if his party can’t coalesce behind a candidate.

Calmes: MAGA Mike sings a chorus of ‘Kumbaya’ with the Democrats, but for how long?

On the other side of the Capitol, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) celebrated a historic feat of his own, delivering floor remarks to commemorate his new record as the longest-serving leader in the upper chamber. Democrats, in contrast, were in complete unity as Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) stood to nominate Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who has little chance of becoming speaker in a House Republican majority. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) later nominated Biggs for speaker, to muted applause in the chamber.

Calmes: Kevin McCarthy would do anything to be House speaker. That’s the problem

Washington — Rep. Mike Johnson, a Republican of Louisiana, won election as the new speaker of the House on Wednesday, ending three weeks of chaos since Rep. Kevin McCarthy's historic ouster. Talking with reporters, he gamely brushed off the notion that his historic and humiliating slog to election — the most protracted such contest since 1859 — foretold any troubles ahead for him in governing with an unruly and narrow majority. WASHINGTON — They helped lead the efforts to keep former President Donald J. Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election. They spread lies that helped ignite a mob of Trump supporters to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Conservative opposition to Emmer emerges

"We're going to dispense with all the usual ceremonies and celebrations that traditionally follow a new speakership because we have no time for either one," Johnson said. "The American people's business is too urgent in this moment. The hour is late. The crisis is great." Johnson now faces a daunting list of challenges, with a fast-approaching government shutdown chief among them. The House is staring down a deadline of Nov. 17, when current government funding expires. In his blueprint for the next few months, Johnson said a stopgap measure extending funding until January or April may be needed to approve more spending and avoid a shutdown.

Ambition keeps him loyal to Donald Trump. But what does Kevin McCarthy stand for?

Reps. Byron Donalds, Mark Green, Mike Johnson and Roger Williams remain in the speaker race. Stefanik tweeted that Republicans are moving forward to the second ballot. The race now is a head-to-head contest between Donalds and Johnson as the GOP conference moves on to a third ballot, according to Stefanik. Our coverage of the latest developments in the House speaker race continues here.

Here’s what to watch for in the 14th round of voting for House speaker.

Mr. Johnson’s abrupt rise to the speaker post this week in the depressed and divided House Republican conference underscores the rightward lurch of the G.O.P., which dumped his more mainstream predecessor, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California. On the eve of the Jan. 6 votes, Mr. Johnson had honed his arguments undermining the election to be more palatable. He presented colleagues with arguments they could use to oppose the will of the voters without embracing conspiracy theories and the lies of widespread fraud pushed by Mr. Trump.

Republicans nominate Mike Johnson for speaker after spurning Emmer.

The House went into recess shortly Tuesday afternoon after Jordan lost the first round of voting to become the chamber’s leader. He predicted they would cave and support Jordan by the end of the week after pressure from conservative voters who are being told to call member offices and close friends. In all, 212 Democrats voted unanimously for their House leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, while 200 Republicans voted for Jordan and 20 for someone else. Jordan must pick up most of the GOP holdouts to reach the 217 majority threshold. Wednesday as he and his supporters work to persuade the remaining holdouts to flip in his favor. The House adjourned Tuesday evening after Jordan failed to garner enough Republican support to clinch the gavel in the first ballot for House speaker.

WASHINGTON — The House was in an uproar, unable to settle on its new speaker, forcing roll call vote after roll call vote. The Senate had quietly slipped out of the city while insurgents in the House demanded more power as the nation watched anxiously. A welcome winter rain has tamped down the Central Valley dust, but high winds have sent tumbleweeds bounding down the city’s wide boulevards. The Republican divisions obstructing Mr. McCarthy’s decade-long ambition of becoming speaker of the House have been playing out on both the national stage in Washington and a far smaller though equally telling one in his hometown and home district. It is easier to find detractors on his far-right flank than die-hard supporters, in what should be friendly home turf for California’s top Republican — one of the reddest cities in one of the bluest states in the country.

Asked if he was worried Johnson might attempt to overturn the results of the 2024 election, Mr. Biden said he wasn't. "Our commitment to Israel's security is ironclad and Israel has a right to defend itself under the international rules of war against the brutal terror unleashed on its citizens by Hamas," Jeffries said. "From the very beginning of this Congress, House Democrats have been governing for the people," Jeffries said. "We continue to look forward to finding bipartisan common ground whenever and wherever possible." Johnson returned to the House to applause from those in the chamber, and McHenry called the House back into order. Johnson listed a number of his priorities, including border security, cutting federal spending and establishing a bipartisan debt commission "immediately."

Jordan says he’s been picking up support every day and feels good ahead of the vote for House speaker. “Jim Jordan will be a GREAT Speaker of the House,” the former president said on social media. Donald Trump is reupping his support of his top ally in the House ahead of the vote for speaker. He was abruptly appointed as speaker pro tempore last week following the unprecedented ouster of Kevin McCarthy from the top spot. Jordan typically skips a suit jacket, but he was donning one Tuesday as his colleagues prepared to vote on whether to elect him House speaker.

Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, who ran for speaker as a protest candidate against Jordan in the House GOP conference, also voted to certify the 2020 election. Earlier Tuesday night, Ohio Rep. Max Miller suggested there was growing support for restoring McCarthy to the speakership. "I actually think that we may be on a merry-go-round," Miller told reporters. "Who knows, we might end up back at Speaker McCarthy. He's still got the most votes on anybody in that room."

The Ohio Republican’s garb was a notable departure from his usual style as he shook hands with GOP lawmakers on the House floor. The two men became close in recent years, and Jordan proved to be instrumental in the California Republican’s becoming speaker in January. One of Trump’s most fervent supporters in the House is nominating Jordan for House speaker. Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska voted for Kevin McCarthy, the first Republican to break from Jordan. One key holdout, Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., did not appear to be in the chamber when his name was called. Reps. Don Bacon, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Anthony D’Esposito, Mario Diaz-Balart and Jake Ellzey are among the Republicans who have voted against Jordan.

Trump doubles down on Mike Johnson after foreign aid vote - Axios

Trump doubles down on Mike Johnson after foreign aid vote.

Posted: Mon, 22 Apr 2024 23:49:05 GMT [source]

But last month, he voted for a Rep. Matt Gaetz amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have cut off all security assistance for Ukraine. That amendment failed, , with a majority of Republicans voting against the amendment. Johnson claimed to reporters that he's never opposed funding or aid for Ukraine. Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, chairman of the Democratic caucus, rose to nominate Jeffries for speaker and accused Republicans of manufacturing a crisis that has lasted 22 days.

The brief claimed that the officials and courts in each of the battleground states unconstitutionally usurped the power granted to state legislators by changing election rules in 2020. But Johnson's record on Ukraine funding has been criticized by Ukraine advocates. Johnson received an "F" grade from Republicans for Ukraine on its GOP Congressional Report Card.

“I think this support will really strengthen the armed forces of Ukraine, and we will have a chance for victory,” Zelensky said through an interpreter. Some U.S. lawmakers said coming to Ukraine’s aid now had helped avert sending a dangerous signal of U.S. weakness to Moscow. The House vote “will make the United States of America richer, further ruin Ukraine and result in the deaths of even more Ukrainians, the fault of the Kyiv regime,” Peskov said, according to official Russian media. Even so, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, noted that “Ukrainian forces may suffer additional setbacks in the coming weeks” while waiting for the arrival of weaponry that will allow them to stabilize the front lines. As the political infighting dragged on in Washington, Ukrainian officials expressed particular alarm over the systematic destruction of crucial energy infrastructure, such as a power plant wrecked by missiles outside Kyiv this month. In some parts of the country, the targeting of electricity-generating plants has caused power cuts of a scope and duration comparable to those seen much earlier in the war.