Joyce approves of new House speaker

Local representative offers endorsement of Johnson after vote

U.S. Rep. John Joyce, R-Blair, was clearly confident Wednesday morning.

Despite weeks of what observers labeled "chaos," as Republicans rejected three nominees for speaker to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy, Joyce offered to speak with a reporter about the virtues of a fourth nominee, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, an hour before the vote on his candidacy, which would fail if four members of the party dissented, as had happened with previous nominees.

As it turned out, the election was a success for Johnson, "a man of faith, a family man, a conservative, and a thoughtful communicator who listens before responding," as described by Joyce, who spoke at length with the formerly little known congressman over the weekend.

It was an election conducted in what had become a pressurized environment, as Republicans felt an urgency to reboot their stalled legislative operation to work on foreign military assistance, to relieve the "hammering" they'd endured in the press and because of members' "sheer exhaustion," said Stanley Brand, general counsel for the House in the 1980s under Speaker Tip O'Neill and now distinguished fellow in law and government at Penn State Dickinson Law School.

"This was a harrowing legislative experience for (Republicans)," Brand said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon, after Johnson had prevailed with 220 votes, all Republican -- four more than needed.

It was especially important to get the House operational to show support for Israel and to condemn Iran, an enabler of Hamas, the group that conducted a brutal raid that targeted civilians in southern Israel, according to Joyce.

The House also needs to weigh in on inflation and the southern border crisis, which ties in with the fentanyl crisis, Joyce said.

Joyce's confidence stemmed largely from a straw vote the night before, during which all the Republicans present (20 were absent, according to the New York Times) had a chance to stand up and "verify" their support for Johnson -- or to express support for someone else. "No other names were mentioned," Joyce said.

The turmoil following McCarthy's ouster illustrates the difference between the parties at a national level, according to Joyce.

Under Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrats all voted against

McCarthy and the subsequent Republican speaker nominees, even as the Republicans didn't come to consensus.

Like his predecessor, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Jeffries leads "with an iron fist" with everyone in compliance, Joyce said.

By contrast, the Republicans fight like a family at Thanksgiving dinner -- although ultimately, after the dissension, there's an accommodation, Joyce said.

It's not altogether clear at this point why Johnson emerged as the speaker, according to Brand.

"The caucus works its will in mysterious ways," he said, recalling the election of Jim Wright of Texas as speaker in 1987 in a contest in which two other representatives seemed to have better odds.

Representatives voting for speaker are ceding some of their own power and generally pick someone whom they think will protect their political interests, according to Brand.

Personality is also part of it -- as it is with fraternity or sorority members picking leaders, Brand said.

Representatives reportedly trust and feel confident with Johnson, according to Brand.

An indication he's not someone who triggers negative feelings is the lack of "Democrats reacting violently," Brand said.

It likely helped that Johnson "didn't strong-arm people into voting for him," like prior losing nominee Jim Jordan, Brand said.

It will be interesting to see whether the Republican majority in the House can now move to legislating, Brand said.

As far as he knows, the rule that allows just one member to call for an ouster vote on the speaker, a rule extracted from McCarthy by the small right-wing group that supported his election only grudgingly, is still in effect, according to Brand.

Maybe that will hamstring the new speaker, he said.

Or maybe the recent turbulence has so tired out the members that they'll be willing to make compromises, he said.

Johnson is likely to have as hard a time ruling the Republican conference as did McCarthy, according to Gillian Kratzer, chairwoman of the Blair County Democratic Committee.

Still, it's good "they finally picked someone," Kratzer said. "It was a little bit of a national embarrassment."

Joyce was one of seven representatives named as speaker pro tem by Johnson, according to a Joyce office spokesman.

That puts him in line for assuming the duties of speaker should Johnson be unable to fulfill them, according to the spokesman.

Johnson didn't give a reason for the appointment, although Joyce was also a speaker pro tem under

McCarthy, the spokesman said.

The speaker pro tem setup was created after 9/11 to help guarantee continuity of government, according to the spokesman.

The number of speakers pro tem has varied slightly from time to time.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.