US House elects new speaker amid divided, polarized domestic political situation

USHouseSpeakerMikeJohnsoniscongratulatedbyHouseMajorityLeaderSteveScaliseafterbeingelectedontheHousefloorattheUSCapitolOctober25,2023.Photo:VCG

AfterthreeweekswithoutaspeakerintheHousefollowingtheoustingofKevinMcCarthy,RepublicanHouseRepresentativeMikeJohnsonofLouisianawaselectedasthenewspeakeronWednesdaylocaltime.

Onthesameday,amassshootingoccurredinLewiston,Maine,whichkilledatleast18people.ThemassacreisoneofthedeadliestintheUSinrecentyears.ChineseanalystssaidonThursdaythattheUSdomesticpoliticalandsecuritysituationisstillworrisomeandthepowerstrugglebetweenDemocratsandRepublicanswilladduncertaintiestoUSinternalandexternalpolicies.

ChineseexpertsonUSstudiessaidJohnson'selectionwillexpandfiscalconservatismintheHouse,makingitmoredifficultforPresidentJoeBidenandhisadministrationtoreachagreementwiththeRepublicansonissuessuchassupportingUkraineandavoidinganothershutdown,whiletheHousewillbemoreassertiveinhelpingDonaldTrumpinthe2024presidentialelectionandpreventhimfrombeingharmedbylegalinvestigationslaunchedbyDemocrats.

AssomeonewithahardlinestanceagainstChinaandamemberofthe"CongressionalTaiwanCaucus"thatsupports"Taiwansecessionism,"JohnsoncouldbemoreaggressivethanhispredecessorsinaddingchallengestoChina-USrelations,saidanalysts.

SomeobserversalsoraisedconcernsthattheUSHousespeaker'sattitudetowardChinabecameworsefromNancyPelosiandKevinMcCarthyandwillcontinuetodosowithMikeJohnson,reflectingapoisonedpoliticalatmosphereintheUS,whichisaproblemthattheUSsideshouldovercomeifitwantstobettermanageUS-Chinarelationsandeasebilateraltensions.

JohnsonsecuredthegavelwithoutlosinganyGOPvotes.Thefinaltallywas220votesforJohnsonand209forHouseMinorityLeaderHakeemJeffries,USmediareported.AccordingtoCNN,"JohnsonisaTrumpally."Thespeakerwasakeycongressionalfigureinthefailedeffortstooverturnthe2020electionforformerPresidentDonaldTrump.Hesentanemailfromapersonalaccountin2020toeveryHouseRepublicansolicitingsignaturesforanamicusbriefinthelong-shotTexaslawsuitseekingtoinvalidateelectoralcollegevotesfrommultiplestates.

LüXiang,anexpertonUSstudiesandresearchfellowattheChineseAcademyofSocialSciences,toldtheGlobalTimesonThursdaythatitiscertainRepublicansintheHousewillbemoreunitedandmakemoreeffortstoguardTrump'scampaignandhelptheformerpresidentovercomethechallengesoflegalinvestigationslaunchedbyDemocrats."Thismeansthestrugglebetweenthetwopartieswon'tbeeased,butwillgetmoreintense."

Johnsonnowfacespressingissues,CNN'sreportsaid,includingapotentialshutdown.GovernmentfundingissettoexpireonNovember17,andtheGOP-controlledHousewillneedtoworkwiththeDemocratic-ledSenatetoavertit,whilelawmakersmustalsoconsideraidtoUkraineandIsrael.

Thecrisisofagovernmentshutdownstillexists,andwiththelatestdeadlyshootinginMaine,thestrugglebetweenthetwopartiesonlong-standingissuessuchasguncontrolarelikelytofurthertearAmericansocietyapart,expertssaid.

"JohnsonandRepublicansintheHousewillkeeppressuringtheBidenadministrationtoreducesupportforUkraine,especiallywiththesituationinGazaandtheneedfromIsraelformilitaryandeconomicsupport.JohnsonwillpressureBidentobemoreassertiveindefendingIsrael'swaragainstGaza,"Lünoted.

AccordingtotheVOA,Johnsonisanobvious"Chinahawk"intheHouse,asheholdsahostilestanceonChinainthefieldsoftheTaiwanStraits,COVID-19andsanctionsagainstChineseofficials.

However,China-USrelationsmightseesomemajornewchangesinthecomingweeks,astheAPECmeetingwillbeheldinSanFrancisconextmonth,sotowhatextenttheRepublicansandthenewlyelectedspeakerwillimpacttheUS'policytowardChinaremainsinquestion,LiHaidong,aprofessorattheChinaForeignAffairsUniversity,toldtheGlobalTimesonThursday.