The speaker of the house, a position that is third in the line of succession for president, is a position that you might expect to be highly coveted. However, your imagination would be off the mark as has been demonstrated by the arduous process to elect the newest speaker over the past month.
The process to elect a new house speaker came after Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the previous house speaker, was removed from the position with a motion of vacancy filed by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.
“I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid. I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy,” said Gaetz when speaking with CNN about the removal.
This came only 88 days after McCarthy’s own embattled election process which took over 15 rounds of voting and only was able to pass after making several concessions, including one that allowed for the ability to call a motion of vacancy in the first place.
After his removal there was a mad dash to replace McCarthy but the divided Republicans struggled to secure enough votes.
The first to step up to the plate was Louisian Rep. Steve Scalise, who was able to win the vote to be nominated but would eventually come up short for the full vote.
“I just shared with my colleagues that I’m withdrawing my name as a candidate for speaker-designee,” Scalise said after leaving the closed- door meeting where he announced his withdrawal.
The second to throw their hat into the ring was Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, who was hoisted up by the further right-leaning members such as Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene as an alternative to Scalise.
“Rep. Jordan has a concrete plan to move the Republican conference forward,” said Greene on social media.
Eventually the party was able to coalesce behind Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson, who assumed the office on Oct. 25.
“Governing well will ensure that we meet the unprecedented challenges of today and expand our majority next year,”Johnson wrote in a letter to his constituents.
Already his record is under scrutiny, revealing a history of anti-LGBT and Election denying stances. With such a key voice in the house opposed to things that California has been a champion of, it may lead to further conflict in the future.