Several Republican lawmakers let loose on a reporter on Wednesday after she began to ask newly-elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) a question that was preceded by a Democratic Party talking point regarding the aftermath of the 2020 election.
“Mr. Johnson, you helped lead the efforts to overturn the 2020 election results,” the unnamed reporter asked. “Do you…”
A chorus of Republicans then shouted down the reporter. “Shut up!” one of them said as several others voiced their objections before Johnson moved on to another reporter.
Boos … “Shut up! Shut up!” … "Next question" when Rep. Mike Johnson is asked about efforts to overturn 2020 presidential election results … pic.twitter.com/H1O0drK6SE
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) October 25, 2023
CBS News provided some context to the question.
“Johnson, a former litigator with experience in constitutional law, led an amicus brief filed by House Republicans to the Supreme Court that backed a longshot bid by Texas to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in four states Trump lost: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin,” the outlet reported.
“The brief claimed that the officials and courts in each of the battleground states unconstitutionally usurped the power granted to state legislators by changing election rules in 2020,” the report added. The Supreme Court disagreed, however.
Meanwhile, GOP influencer and columnist Phil Kerpen posted montage of tweets from the House’s top Democrat, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who frequently denied that Trump won the 2016 election, claiming — falsely — that his victory was secured by Russia.
House Democrats voted for their top election denier to be speaker over and over and over — and the dude is ranting about election deniers. What a world.pic.twitter.com/4Qt5Of2RDO https://t.co/SZyILaaraQ
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) October 25, 2023
Johnson was able to rally the GOP behind him as their consensus candidate, but he still has a lot of work to do, including passing legislation to keep the government open, as he takes the gavel. The final tally on the House floor was 220 to 209 in favor of Johnson, with no Republicans voting no.
According to Politico, after two rounds of voting, “Johnson has the most votes in the House GOP’s latest attempt to nominate a speaker, though he’s still short of the majority he needs to become the conference nominee.”
“Three candidates are now out of the running: Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (Tenn.) and Rep. Roger Williams (Texas) were eliminated after receiving the fewest votes, while Rep. Marc Green dropped out after the second round,” the outlet said, adding that Republicans will continue to vote by secret ballot until one candidate manages to secure a simple majority.
Those with the lowest plurality of votes will be eliminated after each round, the outlet reported, adding the breakdown of the latest vote that saw Johnson with the highest tally:
Round one:
Johnson 85 … Byron Donalds 32 … Mark Green 23 … Roger Williams 21 … Fleischmann 10 … Other 31 … Present 2
Round two:
Johnson 97 … Donalds 31 … Green 21 … Williams-20 … Other 34
Earlier Tuesday, Johnson finished second behind House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), but Emmer withdrew when it became apparent he could not get the requisite 217 votes after former President Donald Trump came out against him, Politico noted.
Following his second-round victory, Johnson told reporters he was “very confident” that he could get 217 votes and said “the intention is to go to the floor” for a vote sometime on Wednesday.
“We had votes for Mike Johnson across the board,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), the ringleader in the drive to oust Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) late last month, setting off the current situation of Republicans being unable to fill the Speaker’s chair and get the chamber back to work.
“From some of the most conservative members to some of our frontliners, there was enthusiastic support,” Gaetz added, according to Politico.
The Daily Caller noted that after Emmer was chosen, “conservatives took to social media … criticizing his voting record and his lack of support for” Trump.
The outlet added:
Emmer won the GOP nomination in a closed-door secret ballot election after five rounds of voting following the failed candidacies of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan. Despite speaking with Trump over the weekend about his speaker bid, he has declined to endorse the former president and has previously supported abolishing the Electoral College, along with several other controversial votes and stances that have prompted a conservative backlash over his nomination.
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