WASHINGTON (AP) — This time was supposed to be different.
But while House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday avoided the dayslong ordeal that his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, endured to become speaker, his relatively swift victory was hardly a unifying moment. The tumult of the day laid bare that Johnson retains only tenuous support from hard-line conservatives who gave him their votes for now, but stand ready to dispatch him just as they did McCarthy if their demands aren’t met.
“Is he going to fight?” said Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican who initially opposed Johnson but ultimate changed his vote.
Republicans are relishing the moment as they take unified control
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