STATESIDE STORIES: New Speaker of the House Third in Line for US Presidency

Representative  Mike Johnson, right,  with former Vice President Mike Pence at a Republican Study
Committee steering meeting where the former said they discussed “how we can take back
the House by standing for our conservative principles.” (Incidentally, Pence
withdrew from the 2024 US presidential race in October 2023.)

by Mary Foran

US Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana became Speaker of the House last week, succeeding Kevin McCarthy of California who was recently ousted from the role in an historic vote.

Newt Gingrich, bombastic Speaker of the House 1995-1999, speaking at a Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans

Johnson is the first Southern Republican to lead the House since Newt Gingrich of Georgia led the gavel from 1995 to 1999.

Johnson is nothing like the bombastic figure that Gingrich was in the 1990s, and he is a relative unknown. As the country has become more polarized, conservative priorities pushed by the House Republicans could become an effective wedge for Democrats as they seek to hold the White House next year.

Ongoing challenges in states, including Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee and Johnson’s native Louisiana, could mean that Democrats may be able to chip away at the Republican’s majority.

Vice President Kamala Harris

In any case, Mike Johnson now becomes third in line for the Presidency of the United States, after Vice-president Kamala Harris. He is known for his conservative stances on most issues.

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Images
Featured image/Office of Representative Mike Johnson – Facebook, created 24 February 2021, PD Wikimedia Commons
Gingrich/Gage Skidmore, uploaded June 2011, CC BY-SA2.0 via Flickr
Kamala Harris /Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA2.0 via Flickr