House Speaker Mike Johnson's rise from relative obscurity to being the most powerful Republican in the House was a swift one. After more than three weeks without a speaker, House Republicans elected Johnson Tuesday around 16 hours after making him their latest nominee. In a post on X, the conservative lawmaker from Louisiana promised to "restore sanity to a government desperately in need of it." More on the least experienced House speaker in more than a century:
- Low profile was a plus. As vice chair of the Republican conference, Johnson was considered the No. 5 Republican, but he was little known outside Capitol Hill, the Advocate reports. The 51-year-old was elected to Congress in 2016 and had less "baggage" and fewer enemies than the three previous nominees.