Mike Johnson Steps Away As House Democrats Take Control

Things will be changing in Washington DC as Democrats take control of the House and Senate. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has told staffers he is not planning on remaining House Republican leader.

LSU-Shreveport Political Science Professor Jeff Sadow says this is no surprise. He says most Speakers do not try to take the step down to minority leader, but the decider for Johnson was just how big of a swing the House took toward the Democrats.

“It’s a different environment that he’d operate in as a party leader; and he may think somebody else would be better navigating such a large gap now.”

Sadow also says “the fact that he lasted three years, when some people didn’t know if he would last more than three months; I think that’s a credit to his service.”

Sadow expects Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana to try to become minority leader. But Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan from Ohio has also expressed interest.

What Does Mike Johnson Say About His Run As Speaker

Johnson tells KEEL News he's proud of his accomplishments as Speaker. "I never hoped or pined for this. I tried to be a steady hand at the wheel." Johnson says he's the first House Speaker from Louisiana and he's proud of that.

Johnson did acknowledge that gas prices are way too high. But he says the problem is the Strait of Hormuz. He also wanted to remind folks:

We inherited the biggest mess in history from the Biden administration. We got 40 year inflation that peaked at 9.1% and $5 dollar gasoline. But the difference is they did it intentionally. They want to ban fossil fuels. They want end oil and gas exploration. But in 2024 won the Presidency and the House and Senate and we reversed all that. But you can't reverse the disaster overnight.

Johnson also added "we had this incredible run for the people. We gave the largest tax cut in U.S. history. It was 4.6 trillion dollars to working families."