New House Speaker Mike Johnson has a full plate ahead of him as he steps behind the gavel with government funding, the war in Israel and the border crisis looming.
The House of Representatives has a new speaker in Mike Johnson, R-La., and he already has a full plate.
Johnson is taking the reins from interim House Speaker Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., who took up the speaker pro tempore position after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster weeks ago.
The new speaker, though, is inheriting a packed docket that includes a looming government funding deadline.
GOVERNMENT FUNDING DEADLINE
The first issue Johnson will have to wrestle with is funding the government.
There are 12 appropriations bills that need to pass through Congress and reach President Biden’s desk before a quickly approaching Nov. 17 deadline.
The government is funded until mid-November, and failure to get appropriation legislation across the finish line would lead to a government shutdown.
A continuing resolution (CR) could be a move Johnson considers to buy more time to pass the appropriations bills, but a CR was the catalyst for McCarthy’s ouster, led by GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.
ISRAEL
The war in Israel has been a backdrop for the House’s speaker fight, and action will be taken now that the chamber has a leader.
With Americans being taken hostage and the potential of Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists entering America at the southern border, the House is under pressure to make a move.
