Washington [US], October 27: The US House of Representatives ended the paralysis for the past 22 days after electing Mr. Mike Johnson as leader, the first step to handle many issues in the coming days.
Little famous character
The election of Mr. Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House of Representatives , the third most powerful position in the US government, after the president and vice president, is considered relatively surprising. The 51-year-old congressman from Louisiana is a lawyer specializing in constitutional law and a former radio host.
According to Axios , Mr. Johnson is the least experienced congressman elected Speaker of the House in more than 100 years. Mr. Johnson's strong commitment to traditional values such as opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion received support from Republicans but was strongly criticized by Democrats.
Becoming a member of the House of Representatives since 2017, the most prominent features of Mr. Johnson include his support for former President Donald Trump . Mr. Johnson was the chief architect of the effort in the US Congress to reverse Mr. Trump's loss to rival Joe Biden after the 2020 presidential election. He voted against ratifying the results of the election and is the person who led more than 100 lawmakers to sign a document supporting the petition to overturn the results in 4 states.
In yesterday's analysis, The New York Times stated that the far-right wing of the Republican Party finally elected the right person to be Speaker of the House. Democratic lawmakers evaluate Mr. Johnson as a friendlier version of Mr. Jim Jordan, the most prominent representative of the far right and who lost the election before.
Many challenges
Although he was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Johnson's "honeymoon" may not last because of a series of issues that the US legislature needs to resolve soon. The biggest challenge is passing spending budget bills to avoid the risk of a government shutdown after November 17. Mr. Johnson's support for sharp spending cuts and opposition to Ukraine aid are expected to be major barriers to passing the bills.
According to AFP, President Biden called to congratulate Mr. Johnson but also urged the new Speaker of the House of Representatives to quickly approve a $106 billion budget package to aid Ukraine and Israel , along with funding for US border security. proposed by the White House.
On the other hand, Mr. Johnson's lack of fame is considered a major obstacle in governance, as he has to build a relationship from scratch with the White House and the Senate, where most members do not know much about him. According to Politico , Republican leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell said he had never met Mr. Johnson, while Democratic leader Chuck Schumer did not know the new House Speaker at all.
That obstacle will also affect Mr. Johnson's fundraising in the context of entering the election campaign season, a period when he must find ways to maintain and expand the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper
