Joyce, Reschenthaler applaud choice of Johnson as speaker

Oct. 26—WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. John Joyce, R-Blair, compared the Republican Party's difficulty in picking a speaker for the U.S. House of Representatives to family disagreements during a holiday dinner.

On Wednesday, the GOP selected U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, from Louisiana, to the top position.

It was the latest step in a process that has been contentious and prolonged since U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, of California, was not picked to be speaker until the 15th ballot in January. He was then voted out of the position earlier this month, just days after working with House Democrats on a deal to avert a government shutdown.

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, of North Carolina, took on the role of speaker pro tempore.

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, of Ohio, tried and failed three times to win the speakership.

Johnson finally secured the spot by getting 220 votes, ahead of the 209 counted for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York.

"Families fight, and this is a large family here with many different components," said Joyce, who represents the 13th Congressional District that includes Johnstown, during a telephone interview on Wednesday, "but we're ready to work past that. We've been able to find a leader who can address all the different components of a family. Think of your Thanksgiving dinner. People have different discussions and weigh in with different areas of what's important to them, politically, socially. The Republican conference is no different in that regard."

When asked how the protracted speaker selection processes made the Republican Party appear to the country in terms of how it can handle issues, Joyce said, "I think people are concerned, and I think we've chosen the right individual who can take us forward in that positive light."

Joyce offered his support to Johnson calling him "a strong conservative" and "a man of faith."

He added: "Mike Johnson is who we need. He's who we need right now. He is a strong conservative. He's a man of faith. And he's ready to unite the Republican conference and lead. He is going to continue that servant-leader mentality. He looks to have an open-door policy. His conservative values are front and foremost."

U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Washington, whose 14th District includes almost all of Somerset County, also backed Johnson.

"Mike Johnson has been a uniting voice in our conference since his first day in office, standing up for core Republican principles and spearheading our conservative causes," Reschenthaler said in a released statement. "I got to know Mike well from our days serving on the House Judiciary Committee together, seeing firsthand the tenacity and unrivaled work ethic he brings to Congress. I congratulate him on becoming the 56th Speaker of the House and look forward to delivering results under his selfless leadership for the American people."

In comparison, Jeffries said Johnson "appears to be an extreme right-wing ideologue" during an interview on "CNN This Morning."

"Mike Johnson wants to criminalize abortion care and impose a nationwide ban," Jeffries said.

"Mike Johnson was one of the chief architects of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Mike Johnson also wants to end Social Security and Medicare as we know it. Those are extreme views. And House Democrats will push back aggressively against that."

The selection comes in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election when Democrat Joe Biden defeated then incumbent President Donald Trump, a Republican. Trump, the frontrunner for the GOP nomination in 2024, faces federal charges and indictments in Georgia for allegedly attempting to overthrow the results of the election.

In a fundraising email, Biden's campaign wrote: "Representative Mike Johnson just became Speaker of the House.

"Never heard of him? You're not alone. One of his own colleagues on Capitol Hill said they'd have to Google him.

"So let us fill you in: MAGA Mike Johnson is a Trump lackey. He's one of Congress's most extreme anti-abortion politicians and called Roe v. Wade an 'egregious error,' and he was one of the most forceful election deniers in the House of Representatives."