Republican Mike Johnson won re-election as US House of Representatives speaker, overcoming resistance from a small but pivotal group of conservative hardliners after a flurry of last-minute talks and with the help of a critical endorsement from US president-elect Donald Trump.
Johnson won a majority of the votes necessary after nearly all of the dissident ultra-conservatives acquiesced to his continued leadership. The Louisiana Republican initially fell short of the threshold, and the vote was kept open as he conferred with lawmakers in a side room just off the House chamber.
Johnson’s narrow 218-215 win allows him the chance to lead a House with the slimmest margin of control either party has held post-election in about 100 years. It also underscores the difficulty Republicans might face advancing their own legislative priorities despite universal governing control in Washington.
Photo: Reuters
Still, Johnson successfully navigated the divisions among Republicans in his first major test of the new US Congress. Two Republicans, Keith Self and Ralph Norman, who initially voted for other candidates, switched their votes to Johnson after talks with the speaker’s allies.
Norman said on Fox News that he switched his vote after Johnson assured him that he would “fight” for hardline conservative causes in legislation.
Self said he would not “get ahead of the speaker” on specific agreements Johnson made.
Both congressmen said Trump also called them to urge they drop their opposition to Johnson.
The speaker said he told the holdouts he would “involve members at every level,” but otherwise made “no promises.”
Even so, Chip Roy, a conservative hardliner who voted for Johnson, said in a social media post that the speaker still faces discontent from his own party.
Johnson on Dec 4 last year spoke with President William Lai (賴清德) by phone during the latter’s stopover in Guam on his way back from visiting the nation’s allies in the Pacific
The call marked the first direct conversation between the House speaker and Lai since the latter assumed office in May.
Johnson had previously congratulated Lai upon his election in January and renewed the US’ commitment to the security and democracy of its Indo-Pacific partners, the Voice of America reported.
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts
RSS