Republican Mike Johnson narrowly won re-election Friday to the House speakership on a first ballot, overcoming hard-right GOP holdouts after a tense standoff and buoyed by a nod of support from President-elect Donald Trump.
The uneasy scene brought an ominous start to the first day of the new Congress. A small collection of hardline Republicans convened in the back of the House chamber, one by one declining to vote or choosing another lawmaker. Johnson's face turned grim, acknowledging fresh turmoil and signaling trouble ahead for him as Trump returns to the White House and unified GOP control of Washington.
While the Senate is able to convene on its own and has already elected party leaders — Sen. John Thune as the Republican majority leader, who vowed in his first speech to keep the legislative filibuster in place, and Sen. Chuck Schumer for the Democratic minority — the House must first elect its speaker, a role required by the Constitution, second in the line of succession to the president.
Johnson worked diligently to prevent losing his post, up to the final moments, spending New Year's Day at Mar-a-Lago as he positioned himself alongside Trump. The speaker often portrays himself as the “quarterback” who will be executing the political plays called by the “coach,” the president-elect. Johnson led the two GOP lawmakers off the chamber floor. A short time later, Johnson reentered the chamber upbeat, and Norman and Self cast their votes for him, to cheers.Johnson commands one of the slimmest majorities in modern times, having lost seats in the November election. With the sudden resignation of Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., the tally dropped to 219-215.
In many ways, Johnson has no choice but to endure political hazing from his colleagues, as they remind him of who has leverage in their lopsided relationship. He was a last-ditch choice for the office, rising from the back bench once other leaders failed in the aftermath of McCarthy's ouster. A highly decorated army soldier who died in an explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck at the Trump hotel in Las Vegas left a note saying it was a stunt to serve as 'wakeup call' for the country's ills, investigators said Friday.In an extraordinary turn, a judge Friday set U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's sentencing in his hush money case for Jan. 10, but indicated he wouldn't be jailed.
Team Kerri Einarson has added three-time world junior champion Karlee Burgess to its lineup as a replacement for Shannon Birchard, who will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.Ford, Acura, Land Rover recall vehicles over safety risks An extreme cold warning has been issued for the majority of Manitoba as the wind chill could hit near -40 or colder.Proposed Winnipeg Costco could be growing in sizeSaskatchewan RCMP says it is investigating the death of a 30-year-old woman on Piapot First Nation as suspicious in nature.Whether it was hard news or light-hearted features, the year of 2024 hosted some very compelling stories – with several being widely shared online and reaching new audiences.
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