U.S. Lawmaker Scanlon Votes Against Republican Speaker Johnson

WASHINGTON, D.C. —U.S. Mary Gay Scanlon, a Delaware County Democrat, said Wednesday the newly elected House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, is a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump.

“In electing Speaker Mike Johnson, former President Trump and his extremist supporters are handing the gavel to their strongest ally in the House,” Scanlan said following the election of House Speaker.

“Johnson was a leading architect of Trump’s plot to overturn the 2020 election, supports criminalizing abortion nationwide and stripping rights from the LGBTQ+ community, and has worked to slash Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.”

Johnson was elected by a vote of 220-209, surpassing the 215-vote total required to win. The House was without a Speaker for more than three weeks.

All Democrats in attendance voted for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat.

“After 22 days of paralyzing Congress with chaos, dysfunction, and extremism, House Republicans finally elected a speaker,” Scanlan said in a statement. “Pennsylvanians can't afford the House GOP’s extremism.”

Scanlon said Pennsylvanians want to see Congress work to lower costs, invest in working families to grow the middle class, and protect our elections, our freedoms, and our national security.

"With a government shutdown looming and a crisis abroad, House Democrats remain committed to finding common ground to responsibly govern and uphold our country’s values on the world stage,” Scanlon said.