A man who, until recently, was known only to experts, lectured in the world’s most important parliament. Mike Johnson has been speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives for three weeks and is third in the state behind President Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris. Now the ultra-conservative Republican Party can deal with the controversy that cost his predecessor his job: In Washington on Tuesday evening, Johnson initially pushed the budget through a divided chamber and could have avoided the US administration’s gridlock since the weekend.
A similar maneuver proved fatal for Kevin McCarthy in late September. At the time, he agreed with moderate party friends and Democrats to at least temporarily fund the Biden government and save America from a shutdown. Republican hardliners used the compromise as an opportunity to oust McCarthy in early October. Successor now has to see how he can survive his fight against the next deadline.
Without an agreement by Saturday, parts of the U.S. will come to a standstill
The earlier transitional budget is valid only till this Saturday. If no agreement is reached by then, administrative officials will be suspended without pay and national parks and other public facilities will be closed. Civilian air traffic will also be affected – particularly difficult before Thanksgiving and a big family celebration on Thursday next week. Johnson hurriedly found a way between the camps. Until further notice. And at what cost?
Lawmakers approved a two-phase plan that will keep government agencies open until at least early next year. Since last year’s US midterm elections, his Republicans have a majority in the House of Representatives, unlike the Senate, but he needed a two-thirds majority to pass the plan, so Democrats.
Many of the 336 votes ultimately came from them. 93 of the 95 votes against it came from his party, the Republicans. “We’ve got the fever down,” Johnson said after the decision. This is a gift to the American people. It remains to be seen whether this will be a gift for him as Speaker. Such bipartisan cooperation brought McCarthy an outcry from hardliners.
Democrats only wanted to support Johnson’s draft because it contained no calls for major austerity measures. The Democrat-dominated Senate also wants to agree as soon as possible. Its majority spokesman, Chuck Schumer, was less enthusiastic about the deal. But it does two things that Democrats have been insisting: “He’ll avoid a shutdown, and he’ll do without making any of the horrendous cuts that the right-wing MAGA faction is demanding.” MAGA stands for Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again.”
Funding for veterans, transportation, housing, urban development, agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, energy and water programs and military construction would be extended through Jan. 19, if the Senate approves it and Joe Biden ultimately signs it. According to this version, all others expire on February 2nd; Negotiations must be conducted within this time frame.
It is unclear what will happen to military aid to Ukraine or Taiwan
In this way, the controversy will be pushed deeper and deeper in the election campaign for the 2024 presidential election, months before the second fight between Biden and Trump. Until then, it’s unclear what will happen to essential parts of the aid package that Biden recently requested. This is about $105 billion, of which more than $60 billion goes to Ukraine. The rest is distributed to other countries, including Israel, Taiwan and the southern border of the United States.
Republicans demanded that the $14.3 billion for Israel be combined with cuts to the IRS, the tax authority they hate. Right-wing extremists reject support for Ukraine anyway. Mike Johnson sided with these Trump admirers until he took office; Otherwise he would not have been in this office. He was among the Republicans who wanted to shut down parts of the U.S. a few weeks ago rather than wade through McCarthy’s deal with Democrats.
Democrats are willing to cooperate
Mr. That has changed since Johnson himself was allowed to hold the mallet. If necessary, he seeks support from the other side. Parts of the Republican extreme front are still giving way to him. But rebels like Chip Roy, Matt Gates and Marjorie Taylor Green flatly reject what moderate elected officials think is right.
Now the argument apparently turns physical as well. Republican McCarthy allegedly backstabbed his colleague Tim Burchett. Burchett was one of the rebels who ousted McCarthy. Unlike McCarthy, he now voted against Johnson’s initiative.
In his balancing act, the still-relatively new Speaker remains in the same position McCarthy fell into earlier this colorful fall. His advantage so far: Mike Johnson is Trump’s spokesman.
Johnson said his wife has been on her knees praying to God for the past few weeks.
Trump’s people don’t seem to want to dump him right away. It took a long time to find her preferred candidate. McCarthy believes his succession is secure throughout his tenure. Johnson’s allies included Christian fundamentalists in the Republican Party. His pick is an evangelical opponent of abortion and gay marriage who wants to politicize the Bible.
In his first speech as speaker, Johnson told the Capitol that his wife was unfortunately unable to be there: “She has been on her knees praying to God for the past few weeks and is a little tired.”
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