McClellan Statement on Election of Johnson as House Speaker

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) issued the following statement after Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) was elected as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives: 

“House Republicans’ political posturing and infighting left the People’s House without a Speaker for 22 days at a time when our nation and the international community need Congress to lead. Republicans were too busy playing their political games and exacting petty partisan revenge on one another to care about the issues the American people and our allies face. The past three weeks were nothing short of a dysfunctional disaster – one created and perpetuated solely by House Republicans. 

“The extreme MAGA wing of the Republican conference rejected moderate candidate Tom Emmer, because he carried out his constitutional duty and voted to certify the 2020 election results. Now after three weeks of gridlock, fifteen Republican candidates, several Republican candidate forums, three failed nominees, and three failed Speaker votes, House Republicans tripled down on MAGA extremism and elected Congressman Mike Johnson as the next Speaker. 

“A leading architect of former President Trump’s plot to overturn the 2020 election and a staunch defender of the deadly January 6th insurrection, Johnson is now the face of the Republican party. He supports criminalizing abortion nationwide, stripping the LGBTQ+ community of their rights, and slashing Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Endorsed by the former President himself, Johnson is just the latest MAGA extremist to be propped up by the House Republican conference. 

“From the beginning of the 118th Congress, House Democrats recognized that effective governance in a divided government requires bipartisanship. Throughout this latest Speaker fiasco, Democrats continuously reached across the aisle to offer a bipartisan path forward and put People Over Politics, but Republicans repeatedly rejected those attempts. As international crises continue to intensify and our nation barrels towards a government shutdown, Democrats remain ready to get to work on behalf of the American people. I urge my Republican colleagues to finally put our nation’s interests over that of their own party and get to work.”