The top row
New House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told potential donors in an email sent this week that he refuses to put “people before politics” — an odd admission that may well have been a typo amid of a series of other bold claims , including that he is the “next dad” of the “liberal media” — as Johnson struggles through his first full week as speaker.
Basic elements
Johnson’s campaign slogan was “I refuse to put people before politics.” the e-mail to his supporters who also says he wants to “put Americans FIRST” and accuses the “woke, liberal agenda” of putting “Americans LAST.”
The email comes after his first week as speaker, which he himself is equalized Thursday into an “F5 hurricane” (although the F5 rating system is used for tornadoes) as the House passed several notable bills and began debating a new spending plan ahead of the Nov. 17 government shutdown deadline.
Johnson’s fundraising email also referenced attacks from Democrats last week, including a fundraising email from President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign calling him a “Trump lackey” and “Jim Jordan in a sport coat,” referring to the Ohio Republican congressman and failed congressional candidate who is a close ally of former President Donald Trump.
Moments after Johnson was elected president last week, the Biden campaign released a statement labeling Johnson “MAGA Mike,” while highlighting his record of helping Trump challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election and his stable anti-abortion stance.
Forbes contacted Johnson’s office for clarification on the fundraising email.
Key background
Johnson drew ire from Democrats this week by pushing legislation through the House that would provide funding to Israel but not Ukraine. The bill is dead on arrival in the Senate, where leaders on both sides of the aisle, along with President Joe Biden, want to tie aid to Israel to funding for Ukraine. The $14.3 billion standalone aid package passed the House on Thursday by a vote of 226-196 with only two Republicans voting against it, marking the first major legislation passed under Johnson since he was elected president on October 25. Democratic lawmakers criticized the move and blamed House Republicans for threatening aid to Israel in the wake of the vote: Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), who are both Jews wept as they left the floor of Parliament on Thursday, Semafor reported. Landsman told the report “if you’re going to play politics with something like this, what does that mean for the rest of this Congress?” He also took a look at Johnson’s recent statement in a Fox News interview that his worldview comes from the Bible. “I have a master’s degree in theological studies,” Landsman said, “I studied Torah. I studied the Bible, front and back, every page. It doesn’t follow that book,” Landsman told Semafor. The House also passed measures that would have punished two members this week: one to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) for participating in a pro-Palestinian demonstration on Capitol Hill and another that would have expelled Rep. George Santos ( RN. Y.)
Tangent line
A second Republican who made headlines included a typo in a letter to his colleagues this week. Santos, who is under indictment, thanked the members who voted against the resolution to expel him from the House because he “defended the principals[sic] of due process.”
What to watch out for
Lawmakers have until Nov. 17 to pass a new budget before the current spending plan expires and triggers a government shutdown. Johnson said he supported passing another short-term bill to fund the government by Jan. 15 and also left open the possibility of a “staggered” continuing decision setting different end dates for different agencies’ budgets.
Further reading
Mike Johnson Wins House Speaker Election—Ending GOP’s Historic Three-Week Stalemate (Forbes)
House Passes $14.3 Billion Aid Package For Israel — Setting Up Senate Battle (Forbes)
Who is Mike Johnson? What you need to know about the newly elected Republican House Speaker—and Trump ally. (Forbes)
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