The U.S. House has a Speaker once again

22 days after Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted in a historic vote, the United States House of Representatives finally has a Speaker again: Rep. Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican who was previously the vice chair of the Republican conference.

The final tally in today’s House floor was 220 votes for Johnson and 209 for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York), with four members absent and none voting for another candidate. Among New Jersey’s House members, all three Republicans – Reps. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis), Chris Smith (R-Manchester), and Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) – supported Johnson and all nine Democrats supported Jeffries, as expected.

“We are back, better than ever,” Van Drew said during his vote on the House floor.

Every Republican in attendance supported Johnson, but straightforward result belies the chaotic three weeks that led up to this point. Following McCarthy’s ouster at the hands of eight renegade Republicans (plus the entire Democratic caucus), House Republicans nominated three different candidates to be speaker, all of whom faced enough opposition from one wing of the party or another to nix their bids.

One of those three, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), came up for a House vote thrice, and was foiled by a cohort of moderate and establishment-minded Republicans each time. On the final ballot, Kean – who represents New Jersey’s one true swing district – was among the Republicans who opposed the right-wing Jordan.

But Johnson proved to be different. A staunch but mild-mannered conservative, Johnson was acceptable both to the moderate Republicans who had sunk Jordan and to the hard-right members who opposed McCarthy and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota), a winning formula.

“He just radiates kindness, but he’s as strong as an ox,” Smith said of Johnson, whom he supported in yesterday’s nomination votes. “It’s a good combo. Sometimes in this business you find people who are always throwing barbs – it’s not him. He’s all about policy.”

Democrats, meanwhile, are already highlighting Johnson’s efforts to pass nationwide abortion restrictions and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

“This Republican House caucus is just so dangerously out of touch with what the American people care about,” Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) said. “[Johnson] is someone that called the Supreme Court overturning Roe a ‘joyous day,’ someone who has called for a national abortion ban.”

Kim added that Johnson was a relatively anonymous member until recently – something which probably aided his chances among House Republicans – but that doesn’t mean he’s not “dangerous.”

“I’ll be honest with you, no one really knows him, even in this building,” Kim said. “But as [the American people] get to know him more, they’re going to realize just how dangerous he is.”

Smith countered that while Johnson may be personally conservative, he’ll still work with both parties to accomplish what needs to be accomplished, something Johnson alluded to in a speech following his victory.

“There are differences, and we will fight where there’s differences, but we’ll do it civilly,” Smith said, summarizing Johnson’s remarks. “Where we can find common ground, we will.”

This story was updated at 3:13 p.m. with comment from Rep. Smith.