The US House of Representatives on Wednesday finally elected a new speaker, Mike Johnson, ending weeks of bitter Republican infighting that paralyzed Congress at a time of international and domestic crisis.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday congratulated Johnson on his election, and vowed to work closely with the new speaker and all of Taiwan’s friends in the US Congress to promote peace, prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Johnson is a member of Congressional Taiwan Caucus. The US Congress has since January initiated more than 50 Taiwan-related bills and resolutions, the ministry said in a statement.
Photo: Bloomberg
A little-known ally of former US president Donald Trump who spearheaded legal efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Johnson won the unanimous support of his party to lead the lower chamber of Congress, which has been at a standstill since Kevin McCarthy was ousted in a right-wing coup on Oct. 3.
“I think all the American people at one time had great pride in this institution, but right now, that’s in jeopardy. And we have a challenge before us right now to rebuild and restore that trust,” Johnson said as he took up the gavel.
“It’s the beauty of America that allows a firefighter’s kid like me to come here and serve in the sacred chamber where great men and women have served before all of us,” he said.
Photo : AFP
Johnson is the least experienced speaker in the post-Civil War era, having never chaired a committee or held a senior leadership role.
He will almost immediately face the possibility of a government shutdown that could threaten his job, unless he can cut a budget deal with more seasoned rivals such as US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and US President Joe Biden.
Johnson is also expected to lead his deeply fractured conference through upcoming fights over funding for Ukraine and Israel.
Soon after his speech he introduced a resolution supporting the US’ Middle East ally in its conflict with Hamas militants. It passed with support from all but nine Democrats and one Republican dissenter.
“We all know that the world is in turmoil — but a strong America is good for the entire world,” Johnson told lawmakers. “We are the beacon of freedom.”
Biden congratulated the new speaker and vowed to work with him, adding that the US now needed “to move swiftly to address our national security needs and to avoid a shutdown.”
A virtual unknown, Johnson’s lack of star power appears to have helped the 51-year-old attorney and religious rights campaigner, who lacked enemies from his own side that prompted the downfall of other candidates.
“I haven’t heard one negative comment about him. Everybody likes him, he’s respected by all ... somebody that’s going to be really spectacular and maybe for many years to come,” Trump said ahead of the vote.
Formerly a junior member of the leadership as the conference vice chairman, Johnson entered the House in 2017, having stirred controversy with legislation seen as anti-gay in Louisiana state politics.
The married father of four also voted against codifying federal protections for same-sex marriage last year.
He was the ringleader among more than 100 Republicans who signed onto a legal brief supporting a lawsuit seeking to overturn the 2020 election results in four swing states won by Biden.
Additional reporting by CNA
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