The House of Representatives elected a new speaker Wednesday after voting out former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy.
According to an Associated Press article, McCarthy was voted out because of his decision to work with Democrats to avoid a federal government shutdown.
Mike Johnson, the newly elected speaker of the House, was voted in three weeks after the vacancy of the position by a vote of 220-209, beating Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY.
According to a New York Times article, Speaker Johnson was an architect in the attempt to overturn the 2020 election and is a conservative that is opposed to abortion rights, gay marriage and homosexuality.
President Joe Biden released a press statement congratulating Johnson.
“Jill and I congratulate Speaker Johnson on his election,” Biden wrote. “As I said when this process began, whoever the speaker is, I will seek to work with them in good faith on behalf of the American people.”
President Biden also mentioned that even though he and the speaker have disagreements about important issues, they need to work swiftly to avoid a government shutdown Nov. 17, when government funding runs out.
A government shutdown halts all non-essential functions until congress passes funding and is signed into law. Shutdowns also revoke pay from some employees, as described in a CBS article.
The last government shutdown lasted from December 2018 until January 2019. During that period, the economy lost $11 billion, according to a Congressional Budget Office report.
