Representative Mike Johnson Elected as House Speaker and Moves Quickly on Legislative Agenda

  • by AGD Washington Advocacy Representative
  • Nov 8, 2023
On October 25, 2023, Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA-4) was elected as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. All 220 Republicans voted in favor of his Speakership and 209 Democrats voted against him. The successful vote follows three weeks of turmoil. 

On October 23, 2023, Speaker Johnson sent a letter to his GOP colleagues outlining legislative priorities as well as short-term and long-term timelines for his agenda if elected. The current short-term government funding patch, or continuing resolution (CR), expires on November 17, 2023. Speaker Johnson has proposed a plan to pass another CR that would last until early 2024, which would provide additional time to pass necessary legislation. The Speaker plans to advance each of the 12 appropriations bills required to fund the government individually over the next several months. Notably, Speaker Johnson has announced plans to bring up the fiscal year (FY) 2025 Labor- Health and Human Services-Education appropriations bill for a floor vote during the week of November 13, 2023. 

The letter from Speaker Johnson to his colleagues is available here.

Impact on General Dentistry: Having a House Speaker in place allows the House of Representatives to resume legislative business, including work that has been stalled given the recent turmoil.