Biden Dismisses Potential for New Republican Speaker to Interfere with 2024 Election
Mike Johnson is an avowed election denier
President Biden brushed off the possibility that the new Republican speaker of the House might try to interfere with the results of the 2024 election should Biden win reelection next year.
Rep Mike Johnson, of Louisiana, was elected House speaker Wednesday by fellow House Republicans, ending about three weeks’ of chaos and legislative paralysis since Rep Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif) was ousted in an unprecedented move.
Although much less well-known and lower-profile than other candidates for speaker in recent weeks, Johnson is no less far-right.
Johnson, in Congress since 2017, is perhaps most notable for his role in attempting to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. His arguments against the votes, noting how states changed voting rules because of the pandemic, became a “narrow and lawyerly” way for members of Congress to object to the vote count on January 6, with Johnson as “the most important architect of the Electoral College objections,” the New York Times reported.
Johnson, who is a constitutional lawyer, also circulated an amicus brief – signed by more than 100 Republican lawmakers, including McCarthy – and filed it in a Texas court case to contest the results in four swing states.
Yet, standing outside the White House Wednesday, Biden dismissed concern by a reporter that Johnson could try again should the president win a second term next year.
“If you win reelection in 2024, are you worried that a Speaker Johnson would again attempt to overturn the election?” the reporter asked.
“No,” Biden replied.
“Why not?” the reporter pressed.
“Look, just like I was not worried that the last guy would be able to overturn the election,” the president said. “They [had] about 60 lawsuits, and they all went to the Supreme Court, and, every time, they lost. I understand the Constitution.”
Biden appears on course for a rematch against former president Donald Trump, whom Johnson tried to keep in office illegally.
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