Utah Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney had different reactions to the news Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson was poised to take over as House speaker.
Johnson won the support of all Republicans present in the chamber in a 220-209 vote on the House floor Wednesday. He didn’t receive any Democratic support.
Lee immediately celebrated Johnson’s win after the House approved his nomination to the role. In a post on X from his @BasedMikeLee account, he said, “Congratulations, Speaker Mike Johnson!’”
From his official account, he offered more traditional congratulations.
“Congratulations to the new Speaker of the House, (Rep. Mike Johnson),” he wrote. “Looking forward to working with you to strengthen America, serve hardworking families, and defend the Constitution.”
Lee also expressed support for Johnson late Tuesday, saying, “Love this guy. (Johnson) would be a terrific speaker.”
He also praised Johnson for a tweet about the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which was the House Republican bill that raised the debt limit but also included several conservative priorities.
“This is a good example of why @RepMikeJohnson should be speaker — he wouldn’t have caved in the debt ceiling deal, and we’d all be better off as a result. Punting on second down isn’t a winning strategy, and that’s exactly what happened when McCarthy abandoned Limit, Save, Grow,” Lee wrote.
Mitt Romney weighs in on Speaker Johnson
Romney had a different take.
“Apparently experience isn’t necessary for the speaker job,” Romney told a Huffington Post reporter on Wednesday before the House vote.
“We’re down to folks who haven’t had leadership or chairmanship role which means their administration of the House will be a new experience for them,” he said.
While Johnson served as vice chair of the Republican conference, he didn’t serve in a top leadership position, which would have forced him to try to corral House members into voting for legislation.
Johnson was the fourth nominee put forward by the Republican conference, after the House ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarty. Johnson’s nomination followed former House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, also of Louisiana, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota.
Johnson now has a difficult task ahead, to pass several spending bills before Nov. 17 in order to stave off a government shutdown, and also to decide what to do with an aid package for Ukraine and Israel proposed by President Joe Biden.