Topline
The new House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told potential donors in an email sent out this week that he refuses to put “people over politics” — an odd admission that may well have been a typo amid a flurry of other bold claims, including that he is “next bogeyman” of the “liberal media” — as Johnson grapples with his first full week as Speaker.
Newly elected Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks in the House chamber after his … [+]
Key Facts
Johnson’s campaign wrote “I refuse to put people over politics,” in the email to his supporters that also says he wants to “put Americans FIRST” and accuses “the woke, liberal agenda” of putting “Americans LAST.”
The email comes on the heels of his first week as speaker, which he equated Thursday to “an F5 hurricane” (though the F5 rating system is used for tornadoes), as the House voted on several noteworthy pieces of legislation and began debate on a new spending plan ahead of a November 17 government shutdown deadline.
Johnson’s fundraising email also referenced attacks from Democrats throughout the past week, including a fundraising email from President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign that calls him “a Trump lackey” and “Jim Jordan in a sports coat,” referring to the Ohio Republican congressman and failed speaker candidate who is a close ally of former President Donald Trump.
Moments after Johnson was elected speaker last week, the Biden campaign released a statement dubbing Johnson “MAGA Mike,” while highlighting his record of helping Trump contest the results of the 2020 presidential election and his staunch anti-abortion stance.
Forbes has reached out to Johnson’s office for clarification about the fundraising email.
Key Background
Johnson drew ire from Democrats this week by shepherding legislation through the House that would provide funding for Israel, but not Ukraine. The bill is dead-on-arrival in the Senate, where leaders on both sides of the aisle, along with President Joe Biden, want to couple the aid for Israel with funding for Ukraine. The $14.3 billion standalone aid package passed the House Thursday in a 226-196 vote with only two Republicans voting against it, marking the first major legislation passed under Johnson since he was elected speaker on October 25. Democratic lawmakers blasted the move and accused House Republicans of jeopardizing aid to Israel in the wake of the vote: Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), who are both Jewish, cried as they left the House floor Thursday, Semafor reported. Landsman told the outlet “if you’re going to play politics with something like this, what does that mean for the rest of this Congress?” He also took a shot at Johnson’s recent statement in a Fox News interview that his worldview comes from the Bible. “I have a masters in theological studies,” Landsman said, “I studied the Torah. I studied the Bible, front and back, every page. He doesn’t follow that book,” Landsman told Semafor. The House also voted down measures that would have punished two members this week: one to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) for participating in a pro-Palestinian protest at the Capitol and another that would have expelled Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.)
Tangent
A second headline-making Republican included a typo in a letter to his colleagues this week. Santos, who is under indictment, thanked members who voted against a resolution to expel him from the House for “standing up for the principals[sic] of due process.”
What To Watch For
Lawmakers have until November 17 to pass a new budget before the current spending plan expires and would trigger a government shutdown. Johnson has said he supports passing another short-term bill to fund the government through January 15 and also left open the possibility of a “laddered” continuing resolution that sets various expiration dates for different agencies’ budgets.
Further Reading
Mike Johnson Wins House Speaker Election—Ending Historic Three-Week GOP Impasse (Forbes)
House Passes $14.3 Billion Aid Package For Israel — Setting Up Senate Battle (Forbes)
Who Is Mike Johnson? What To Know About The Newly Elected GOP House Speaker—And Trump Ally. (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/11/03/house-speaker-mike-johnson-says-he-refuses-to-put-people-over-politics/