Later today, the 119th Congress will be sworn into office, and members of the House will select a new speaker. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is confident that his colleague from North Louisiana, Rep. Mike Johnson, will retain the gavel.
"You need to get 218 votes on the House floor," Rep. Scalise (R-Jefferson) said, noting that getting 218 GOP representatives to vote for Rep. Johnson (R-Benton) on the first ballot might be a tough task. "Obviously, you've seen some of our members expressing maybe some things they want changed before they vote for Mike Johnson."
Despite the infighting among Republicans, Rep. Scalise believes Rep. Johnson will ultimately get the votes he needs to retain control of the gavel.
"I'm hopeful he gets there," Rep. Scalise said.
According to Rep. Scalise, a quick vote for Rep. Johnson is imperative if Republicans want to advance their agenda through Congress.
"(We've) spent days and weeks having internal fights amongst ourselves," Rep. Scalise said. "We've got a lot of work to do, and I've got a very busy agenda planned on the House floor in our first few weeks when we come back."
Rep. Scalise told WWL's Tommy Tucker that that agenda is far-reaching.
"Border security and economic security--getting our country back on track--and energy security is one of those big pieces which is big for the Louisiana economy, but it's also important for America's economy," Rep. Scalise said. "It will lower inflation. It'll help families that are struggling to have lower costs at the grocery store, lower costs at the pump, (and) your household electricity rates. A lot of things can be done quickly in the first 100 days."
