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‘I Make No Apologies’: New House Speaker Says the Bible Is His Worldview (VIDEO)

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Newly-minted House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday that the entirety of his worldview could be found if one would simply “go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it.”

Johnson, who received unanimous Republican support after three weeks of chaos — and three other nominees for the position — was elected on Wednesday to replace ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and spoke with Hannity about getting back to business in the House of Representatives.

“Someone asked me today in the media, they said, ‘It’s curious, people are curious. What does Mike Johnson think about any issue under the sun?’” Johnson told Hannity of the intense media scrutiny he’d seen since taking on his new role.

“I said, ‘Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it – that’s my worldview.’ That’s what I believe and so I make no apologies for it,” he said.

(Read more from “‘I Make No Apologies’: New House Speaker Says the Bible Is His Worldview” HERE)

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EXCEPTIONAL CHOICE: After Trump “Kills” Emmers Nomination, Johnson Is Voted Speaker of the House, Staunch Social Conservative; Gaetz Vindicated

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By Business Insider. Rep. Mike Johnson, a relatively unknown 51-year-old congressman first elected in 2016, is a staunch social conservative and evangelical Christian who already served in party leadership as the vice chair of the House GOP conference. . .

What we Know About Speaker Johnson

The day after President Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 election, Johnson said he called Trump and encouraged him to “keep fighting.”

On the morning of January 6, he tweeted that Republicans “MUST fight for election integrity, the Constitution, and the preservation of our republic!”

Johnson has continually voted against sending US aid to Ukraine and was among the original 57 Republicans who first did so in May 2022.

“We should not be sending another $40 billion abroad when our own border is in chaos, American mothers are struggling to find baby formula, gas prices are at record highs, and American families are struggling to make ends meet, without sufficient oversight over where the money will go,” he said at the time. . .

According to a biography on the website Answers in Genesis, Johnson has taught “Constitution and free enterprise” at the university’s Helms School of Government. (Read more from “Meet Rep. Mike Johnson, the New Speaker of the House Who Played a Key Role in Trump’s Efforts to Overturn the 2020 Election” HERE)

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Matt Gaetz Sees Vindication in a Mike Johnson Win

By Molly Ball. As House Republicans started another speaker vote, Matt Gaetz, the Florida congressman who instigated the chaos of the last few weeks, is preemptively declaring victory—and vindication.

“I believe history will assess these three weeks as the most productive weeks of the 118th congress,” Gaetz said in an interview in his Capitol office. “Because now we have both a man and a plan.” (Read more from “Matt Gaetz Sees Vindication in a Mike Johnson Win” HERE)

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‘I Killed Him’: How Trump Torpedoed Tom Emmer’s Speaker Bid

By Politico. Just hours after Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) won the Republican Conference’s nomination to be House speaker on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to deride the congressman as “totally out-of-touch with Republican Voters” and a “Globalist RINO.”

He then got on the phone with members to express his aversion for Emmer and his bid for speaker.

By Tuesday afternoon Trump called one person close to him with the message, “He’s done. It’s over. I killed him.”

Just minutes later, Emmer officially dropped out of the race. (Read more from “‘I Killed Him’: How Trump Torpedoed Tom Emmer’s Speaker Bid” HERE)

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House Delays Second Vote for Speaker After Jordan Comes up Short

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The GOP-led House opted not to hold any more votes on Tuesday after Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) failed to win the speakership in the first and only ballot of the day.

Congressional aides had reportedly said they expected a second vote in the evening, but Jordan later said the next ballot would happen at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. The timing could still change.

“We are going to keep working,” Jordan told reporters after noting he had some “great discussions” with colleagues.

Two hundred Republicans voted for Jordan in the House floor vote earlier on Tuesday while 20 GOP holdouts picked other people in their party. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), the nominee for the Democrats, got 212 votes. No one got a simple majority in the chamber that was needed to secure victory, leaving Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who is serving as speaker pro tempore, to gavel the House into a recess. (Read more from “House Delays Second Vote for Speaker After Jordan Comes up Short” HERE)

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Jim Jordan Wins GOP Nomination for Speaker of the House

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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan won the House Republican Conference’s nomination to become the Speaker of the House of Representatives on Friday, after his primary competitor, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, dropped out of the race.

Jordan, who has represented Ohio’s 4th Congressional District since 2007, won a secret ballot of conference members by a vote of 124 to 81, with the remainder going to Republican Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, who entered the race on Friday.

In a second ballot of the conference, which asked members whether they would support Jordan on the floor following his nomination, he received the support of 152 members, with 55 members voting to indicate they would not support his nomination on the floor. The House Republican Conference has a narrow majority of four seats in the chamber and will require nearly all members to vote in favor of Jordan for him to be elected speaker. (Read more from “Jim Jordan Wins GOP Nomination for Speaker of the House” HERE)

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Steve Scalise Won the Speaker’s Nomination, but Not the Backing of His Entire Party

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House Republicans do not yet have a consensus among themselves to elect a speaker of the House even after Majority Leader Steve Scalise was nominated by their conference to assume the position, members told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Wednesday.

Scalise was nominated as the Republican candidate for speaker by a vote of 113-99 on Wednesday, defeating House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan by a narrow margin. However, there are still several holdouts despite Scalise’s nomination, complicating House Republicans’ plans for a speakership election, members told the DCNF at the Capitol.

“We don’t have the votes,” said Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky to the DCNF, who added that he was currently opposed to Scalise’s election. “There is a large and growing number who will not vote for Scalise,” he said.

(Read more from “Steve Scalise Won the Speaker’s Nomination, but Not the Backing of His Entire Party” HERE)

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Jim Jordan Enters Race for House Speaker

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Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is running for speaker of the GOP-led House of Representatives.

A spokesman for the lawmaker confirmed Jordan’s plans to The Daily Wire on Wednesday, less than a day after the chamber ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the position.

In a quote reported by the Washington Examiner, Jordan said after coming out of the speaker’s office, “I’ve had a lot of people reach out to us, asking me to do it, because I think we can. We’ll see if that happens, but I think I can.”

Multiple Republicans have already voiced support for Jordan as a candidate.

“My first choice if he will run,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said in a post to X. (Read more from “Jim Jordan Enters Race for House Speaker” HERE)

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GOP Rep. Says McCarthy ‘Smugly Rejected’ Key Proposal That Would’ve Gotten Him 218 Votes; Here are the Major Concessions McCarthy Made to Win Speakership

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By Daily Caller. Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado said Tuesday that Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California “smugly rejected” a “common sense” proposal that would have secured him the speakership on the first ballot.

“I have been working for months behind the scenes to create unity,” Boebert told “Special Report” host Bret Baier. “Just last night two colleagues and myself walked into Kevin McCarthy’s office and presented him a very common sense proposal, a deal that got him 218 votes, the gavel on the first ballot and he smugly rejected that.”

McCarthy failed to garner the 218 votes needed to become speaker in three ballots Tuesday, receiving 203 votes in the first two ballots, before Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida switched his vote to Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio on the third ballot, leaving the California Republican with 202. Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York secured 212 votes from Democrats in all three ballots.

“It was very common-sense things like putting forward a border security bill. Putting forward a term limits bill. Having a measure in place where any member of Congress who offers an amendment to reduce the federal debt, well, that’s made in order,” Boebert continued. (Read more from “GOP Rep. Says McCarthy ‘Smugly Rejected’ Key Proposal That Would’ve Gotten Him 218 Votes” HERE)

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Here are the Costly Concessions McCarthy Made to Win House Speaker

By Brian Bushard. McCarthy, who won the speakership after 15 rounds of voting, agreed to vote separately on the 12 different appropriation bills—from agriculture to defense spending to transportation—rather than allow them to be bundled together into an end-of-year omnibus spending bill. . .

McCarthy also agreed to cap discretionary spending at the levels they were at the beginning of the Biden Administration for both defense and domestic spending, as part of a commitment to balance the federal budget within 10 years. . .

In response to a letter from GOP members, McCarthy also agreed to create a subcommittee on the “Weaponization of the Federal Government,” which would be tasked with probing the federal government’s information collection on private individuals as well as its ongoing criminal investigations, potentially including the Department of Justice’s probe into classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate. . .

In one of his biggest concessions, McCarthy agreed to lower the number GOP conference members needed to start a process of removing the speaker, known as a “motion to vacate,” from five to one—even though he previously said he wouldn’t budge on the number, and some Republicans worry it could bog down the House with weekly power struggles.

McCarthy also agreed to keep the Congressional Leadership Fund—a McCarthy affiliated super PAC—out of open House primary races for seats considered safe, and to appoint far-right House Freedom Caucus members to seats on the House Rules Committee.

Also: He promised to give House members 72 hours to review bills before they come to the floor, to require a vote to raise the federal debt limit and to hold votes on congressional term limits and a border security plan, multiple outlets reported. (Read more HERE)

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Matt Gaetz Demands Probe Into ‘Squatter’ Kevin McCarthy for ‘Occupying’ Speaker’s Office: ‘How Long Will He Remain?’

By Mediaite. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) wrote a letter to the Capitol Architect on Tuesday complaining about Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) “occupying” the speaker’s office.

In his letter, Gaetz noted McCarthy had failed earlier in the day to win the gavel after three rounds of voting and accused him of being a “squatter.” . . .

McCarthy’s bid for speaker was largely set back by Gaetz, who is among a group of far-right Republicans who vowed to oppose him for months. He will presumably try again to reach a majority Wednesday when the House reconvenes for more voting. (Read more from “Matt Gaetz Demands Probe Into ‘Squatter’ Kevin McCarthy for ‘Occupying’ Speaker’s Office: ‘How Long Will He Remain?’” HERE)

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Kevin McCarthy Comes up Short Again as Speaker Race Heads to Third Ballot

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After GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy failed on Tuesday to secure enough votes to win the speaker’s gavel on the first ballot, a second round was necessitated — the first time additional ballots were needed since 1923.

This is, presumably, not the kind of historic start GOP leadership was hoping for as the majority party in the new Congress.

For the second ballot, Reps. Hakeem Jeffries and Kevin McCarthy were again nominated. But, instead of renominating Rep. Andy Biggs as the GOP alternative to McCarthy, Rep. Matt Gaetz nominated Rep. Jim Jordan — who had nominated McCarthy for the second ballot.

(Read more from “Kevin McCarthy Comes up Short Again as Speaker Race Heads to Third Ballot” HERE)

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‘Odds Are Increasing’: Could Donald Trump Be Back In Office Soon?

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By WND. Nearly every U.S. president has held political office before their Oval Office tenure.

Many have been members of the Senate, and more than a dozen were governors. A few have held posts such as secretary of the Navy and CIA director. And one even was on the Supreme Court after his presidency.

But now there’s a suggestion that Trump, who never held office before the presidency, in two years could be the next House speaker.

“Odds are increasing that Donald Trump could be the next speaker of the House,” wrote Peter Heck at DISRN.com.

He said Trump could have a “major role in the upcoming 2022 congressional elections, with a potential payoff that would greatly impact the future of President Biden’s term in office.” (Read more from “‘Odds Are Increasing’ For Trump To Become U.s. House Speaker” HERE)

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Trump May Be Back In Office Soon — Republicans Working To Install President Trump As Speaker Of The House In 2022

By En-volve. President Trump may be back in office very soon. No, not as President but as Speaker of the House.

There is increasing speculation in Washington, D.C., that former President Donald Trump may be planning to play a major role in the upcoming 2022 congressional midterm elections, with a potential payoff that would greatly impact the future of President Biden’s term in office.

If Trump is successful in helping the Republican Party gain back a majority in the House, something that is likely given the GOP’s shockingly strong performance in the 2020 election cycle, a new Republican majority in the House could install Trump as Speaker of the House. (Read more from “Trump May Be Back In Office Soon — Republicans Working To Install President Trump As Speaker Of The House In 2022” HERE)

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Former House Speaker, “Serial Child Molester,” Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison

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Dennis_Hastert_2 (1)By Natasha Korecki. Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert was sentenced to 15 months in prison on Wednesday after a dramatic hearing in which a judge deemed him a “serial child molester” and victims tearfully testified that he forever altered their lives.

“Some conduct is unforgivable no matter how old it is,” U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin told Hastert in a lengthy statement at the hearing.

Durkin called it “deplorable” that Hastert lied to the FBI during an initial investigation that ultimately led to a felony charge that Hastert broke federal law on reporting cash transactions while paying hush money to a former student at a school where he was a coach. Durkin also said it was “unconscionable” that Hastert initially accused the former student — known in the case as Individual A — of extortion, leading the FBI to begin investigating the victim.

“You set him up,” Durkin told Hastert, who has admitted to sexually abusing teenage boys when he was a high school teacher and wrestling coach more than three decades ago.

Durkin upbraided Hastert for trying to say the conduct against Individual A was “ambiguous.” (Read more from “Former House Speaker Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison” HERE)

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A Look at the Men Accusing Hastert of Sexual Abuse

By Michael Tarm. Individual A was 14 when Hastert abused him, according to court documents filed by the government earlier this month. Hastert would have been in his 20s or 30s . . .

Individual B was also 14 when he says Hastert abused him. It happened when he was alone in the locker room with Hastert after a workout. He told prosecutors Hastert offered him a massage, telling him it would help “loosen him up.” Hastert then “performed a sexual act” on him, the court documents said . . .

Individual C had just stepped out of a locker room shower when Hastert offered him a massage. He didn’t think it strange at first. But when his towel came off, Hastert brushed his hand against the boy’s genitals. “Individual C recalls that it was ‘very weird’ and made him uncomfortable,” according to the court papers. But Individual C wasn’t sure the touching was intentional. (Read more from “A Look at the Men Accusing Hastert of Sexual Abuse” HERE)

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