On October 25, the House elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) to be the 56th Speaker of the House of Representatives, capping off a contentious three-week period where the House did not have a speaker.
Johnson, first elected in 2016, has served as chair of the Republican Study Committee, vice chair of the House Republican Conference, and on the Judiciary and Armed Services committees. Prior to joining Congress, Johnson was a partner at a law firm in Louisiana. He earned both his bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctorate from Louisiana State University. He has not worked much in the education or workforce development areas and is likely to focus primarily on other issues. However, he was a member of the House CTE Caucus, indicating at least some interest in CTE.
Johnson faces many legislative priorities as Speaker with one of the first being government funding. The continuing resolution keeping the government open is set to expire on November 17. In a blueprint for the new few months that he circulated earlier this week, Johnson said another stopgap funding measure until January or April may be needed so that lawmakers can continue working on passing regular appropriations bills. He also suggested bringing the House FY 24 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill, which contains steep cuts to education and workforce programs, to the floor for a vote the week of November 13. Now is the time to redouble efforts to oppose this House bill and advocate for the higher funding levels proposed by the Senate.
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