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Rep. Mike Johnson is an unfamiliar name to most GOP senators, underscoring the turbulent and unexpected ascent on Wednesday by the Louisiana Republican to speaker of the House.
It’s highly unusual for someone elected to the powerful position that’s second in line to the presidency to be a stranger to so many members of their own party in Congress.
After three weeks of turmoil without a House speaker in the GOP-controlled chamber, Mr. Johnson will be immediately tasked with working with the Democratic-led Senate, where lawmakers are eager to pass government funding bills, aid for Israel and Ukraine, and to address the U.S. southern border.
“I know what I’ve read in the paper,” third-ranking Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming said of Mr. Johnson. “It’ll be nice to have a speaker. We have a lot of work to do.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, told The Washington Times he, too, was unfamiliar with Mr. Johnson but that he was “all for anybody that can get through.”
SEE ALSO: House elects Rep. Mike Johnson as new speaker, breaking weekslong stalemate
Alabama GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who said he did not know Mr. Johnson, quipped: “I guess he hasn’t been here long enough to make a lot of people mad.”
Mr. Johnson is a four-term lawmaker who was vice chair of the House GOP conference and was first elected to the House in 2016. He was the fourth GOP speaker nominee, following failed bids by Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Majority Whip Tom Emmer.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy was stripped of the gavel Oct. 3 by eight Republicans and all Democrats, becoming the first House speaker in U.S. history to be voted out of the gig. That vote came after conservatives’ dissatisfaction with a stop-gap funding bill to keep the government open.
Mr. Johnson secured the speakership Wednesday with support from all 220 House Republicans.
“We will restore trust in this body,” Mr. Johnson said. “We will advance a comprehensive conservative policy agenda, combat the harmful policies of the Biden administration and support our allies abroad.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a fellow Louisiana Republican, was among the few GOP senators familiar with the new speaker. Mr. Cassidy described Mr. Johnson as someone who can heal deep divisions within the House Republican conference after weeks of tense intraparty chaos.
“He kind of bridges the divide they have, and they need somebody to bridge those divides,” Mr. Cassidy said. “Mike Johnson is a conservative who wishes to govern. The divide is really between those who like chaos and those who wish to govern.”
But Mr. Johnson’s support of efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election drew pause from some Senate Republicans. He was an architect of legal theories seeking to flip the results in four key swing states that went for President Biden.
“That’s not a factor in favor, I must admit,” Sen. Mitt Romney, Utah Republican, told The Times. “I don’t know him. I know nothing about him. Apparently, experience isn’t necessary for the speaker job.”
South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds, who heard Mr. Johnson’s name “for the first time just this week,” said his 2020 election efforts were “not the direction that I would’ve gone.”
Mr. Cassidy, who’s been critical of Mr. Trump in the past and is not seeking reelection next year, disagreed about the concern over Mr. Johnson’s actions.
“If we focus upon flaws, we never move forward because everybody in this institution… has some credible flaw that you would look upon and say, ’Does this disqualify them for X, Y and Z,’” Mr. Cassidy said. “At some point, you got to move ahead.”
At the top of Congress’ to-do list is averting a Nov. 18 government shutdown by approving more spending, most likely in the form of another stopgap funding bill as members work through the annual budget.
Lawmakers also want an aid package that includes assistance for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and the southern border. However, cobbling together legislation that addresses so many issues is giving some Republicans heartburn, particularly the inclusion of more Ukraine money.
Fourth-ranking Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said it “doesn’t matter what I think” about Mr. Johnson, but rather that the House will finally be able to resume legislative business.
“I’ll be honest,” she said. “They are the ones that have to elect a speaker, and then I will be grateful to work with whoever the speaker is.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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