Local GOP chair pleased with new House Speaker

Oct. 26—It was in January that Somerset's own Congressman Harold "Hal" Rogers got to perform his key duty as Dean of the House of Representatives for the first time and swear in a new Speaker of the House. Nine months later, he got to do it again.

On Wednesday, Rogers swore in Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana as the 56th Speaker of the House of Representatives after a lengthy battle between House Republicans to settle on a candidate upon which two opposing factions could agree that started when Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his Speaker position earlier in the month.

"We've lost three weeks of governing due to the Speaker vacancy, and this House is eager to get back to work, specifically to address our southern border crisis and to stand firm with Israel," said Rogers in a statement about the situation. "The United States should always support Israel, our long-time ally, and condemn all forms of terrorism. As Speaker Johnson said, this nation should be a beacon of hope in a world that desperately needs it, and this resolution is a meaningful first step with our new leader and a united Republican conference."

After being sworn in, Johnson called the first vote for a House Resolution condemning the Hamas attack on Israel and terrorist support from Iran, as well as demanding the immediate release of all hostages.

McCarthy lost the support of more hard-line Republicans after reaching a deal with Democrats on a deal to fund the government through November 17 with the possibility of a shutdown looming, with Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz leading the charge against McCarthy, and eight members of the GOP joining Democrats to remove McCarthy. It was the first time a speaker has been voted out during session.

North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry became the Speaker Pro Tempore, but the search was on for a more permanent replacement, which saw numerous candidates rise to the top before failing to gain enough support to win the speakership. That list included the more moderate Louisiana's Steve Scalise, the House Majority Leader, and more intensely conservative Ohio's Jim Jordan, a strong supporter of former president Donald Trump. The former withdrew as a candidate after winning the nomination, and Jordan came up short in the voting multiple times.

Several other candidates found their names thrown into the process before Johnson finally emerged earlier this week, winning the speakership by a count of 220 to 209 votes and finally bringing Republicans — who hold a majority in the House — together behind a candidate.

Only in office since 2017, Johnson is the House Speaker with the shortest tenure in Congress since Kentuckian John Carlisle in 1883.

Before swearing in Johnson on the House Floor, Rogers stated, "When our founding fathers chose a new bold and innovative self-rule of governing, it was met by deep skepticism by the world's monarchs. They said self-rule is only a dream. Our founders said, they're right — it's the American dream.

"Now it's our dream. We're in charge," he continued. "The speakership of the United States House of Representatives is the crucial outpost for the well-being of the people's government — the keeper, if you will, of the dream."

Bill Turpen, Pulaski County Republican Party Chairman, expressed satisfaction to the Commonwealth Journal with the decision ultimately reached by GOP lawmakers.

"It seems like that it's ended up very well," said Turpen. "The whole process, people have been quite disappointed about, but somebody once said, 'Democracy can be messy,' and this has been messy, but you know, that's democracy."

Turpen said that he thinks Johnson "seems like a good, solid character (and) a Christian man" and that he's "the right man for the right time."

That said, Turpen was not among those who felt removing McCarthy from the role of House Speaker was the right thing to do.

"I didn't think that was fair," said Turpen. "... If you don't like every single thing someone does, then with the fragile majority that (Republicans) have, it takes a small handful to vote someone out. You're not given a good chance at it. (McCarthy) hadn't even been there (as Speaker) for a year. I think he's done a great job, but since he's out ... we pick up and go from there.

"(Johnson) may be a long-time speaker, and he may be short (in the role), but I think he's a good character; I thought McCarthy was a good character was well," he added.

In what was perceived nationally as a battle between those who were more and those less loyal to Trump, for Turpen, it was less about leaning to one side or the other than seeing the big picture, he said, and he hopes that Johnson, a strong Trump supporter, can achieve the right balance.

"I think that this man was accepted to be the leader because they perceive that he will be fair, if he was a Trump guy or a moderate or whatever," said Turpen. "They feel that the man is the right one for that job and that he'll be fair. Now, if someone comes up and puts him out in two weeks or two months, it simply is not fair to do that to a leader."

Turpen said he'd like to see Johnson "bring things together and get something done" in his new role.

"They do have to work with the Democrat Senate, and they're going to have to have some bipartisan work together," said Turpen.