Last Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives elected Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, as the 56th Speaker of the House. The vote for Johnson was 220-209 and ended three weeks of turmoil in the Republican conference because of former speaker Kevin McCarty’s ousting from the position. Johnson was the fourth candidate nominated by the majority of House Republicans to be considered as speaker, with Steve Scalise (LA), Jim Jordan (OH) and Tom Emmer (MN) all failing to garner enough support from Republican members to win a full vote on the House floor.

The House reconvenes this Wednesday with difficult votes ahead for the new speaker. McCarthy’s removal was the result of the opposition of a small number of Republicans who objected to his allowing consideration of a stopgap funding proposal that averted a government shutdown. That temporary funding measure expires on Nov. 17, and Johnson has already suggested passage of another temporary measure into next year to allow Congress to pass individual funding bills for federal agencies rather than a combined “omnibus” spending package, a measure which has traditionally met with Republican opposition in the House.