Rep. Mike Johnson Elected House Speaker: Where He Stands On Major Policies

On Oct. 25, the House elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) Speaker of the House of Representatives by a 220-209 vote. All present House Republicans voted in favor of Speaker Johnson, while all present Democrats voted for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). There were four lawmakers not present for the vote including three Democrats and one Republican.

Now that a Speaker has been elected, Congress is on the clock to come up with a plan to avoid a government shutdown that will occur if they fail to pass a spending plan or a continuing resolution (CR) before the current CR expires, which goes through Nov. 17. This also comes as President Joe Biden recently sent Congress an approximately $100 billion request for assistance in Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and U.S.-Mexico border security. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has expressed that he wants the Senate to move quickly with the President's request, but some House Republicans have expressed skepticism in the past