The House GOP picked Rep. Mike Johnson as their latest speaker nominee Tuesday evening, though the Louisiana Republican so far lacks the 217 votes needed to win the gavel – the latest sign that Republicans are still no closer to electing a new speaker three weeks after Kevin McCarthy’s historic ouster.

The vote for Johnson came at the end of a tumultuous day that began when Republicans voted to elect Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer as speaker nominee only for Emmer drop out just hours later amid stiff resistance from the right flank of the conference and a major rebuke from former President Donald Trump.

In the final round of secret-ballot voting, Johnson was elected speaker nominee with 128 votes. McCarthy received 43 votes, the next highest tally, and some House Republicans are blaming the California Republican for undercutting Johnson’s ascent. Ahead of Tuesday night’s votes, some members raised the idea of a McCarthy tag team with Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan to solve the speakership stalemate – with McCarthy returning as speaker and then making Jordan his “assistant speaker,” sources told CNN.

  • _dev_null@lemmy.zxcvn.xyz
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    1 year ago

    stiff resistance from the right flank of the conference and a major rebuke from former President Donald Trump.

    How fucked are we (the US), that an extremist 45 members of congress and a seditious ex-president are enough to bring the entire legislative branch to a halt?

    • Wrench@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Congress isn’t just blocked by 45 extremists. There are another 177 Republicans refusing to go across the aisle to pull us out of this mess.

      Playing party politics at the cost of the nation. No adults in the room.

      • cybersandwich@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Exactly. What’s really embarrassing is how polarized the Republicans are. To the point where it’s mortal sin to work with Democrats, your fellow Americans representatives, to go about the business of governing America.

        I actually think the Democrats would work, in good faith, with Republicans on this if the Republicans put forward a non-maga Republican who would commit to working in good faith.

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      1 year ago

      It’s not 45 congresspeople. It’s the millions of people they collectively represent who put them there by ticking a box on a voting machine. Those 45 people are doing exactly what their constituents elected them to do. That is the real problem.

      • Franzia@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 year ago

        That is manufactured consent. We only get a few options on the ballot, and then all of their positions are a compromise between voters and financial donors… Who often also influence the voters.

    • dust_accelerator@discuss.tchncs.de
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      1 year ago

      Megafucked, I mean, how do the hardworking citizens feel about paying $4.44 trillion for these overpaid dunces just to refuse to do their job?