Republicans didn’t have a speaker for 40 years until Newt Gingrich finally reclaimed the gavel for the party in 1995 after decades in the wilderness.
But hanging on to it has proved extremely challenging for Republicans in the years since — a potential object lesson for incoming Speaker Mike Johnson.
From Newt Gingrich to John A. Boehner to Kevin McCarthy and points in between, Republican speakers and speaker candidates have encountered significant turbulence from their own colleagues.
The result has been internal revolts of the sort that led to Mr. Johnson’s ascent from practically nowhere to the highest office in Congress on Wednesday.
“We’ve got a history of displacing speakers now that in my opinion is a cultural challenge that we need to address,” said Representative Mike Garcia, Republican of California.
Persons:
didn’t, Newt Gingrich, Mike Johnson, John A, Boehner, Kevin McCarthy, Johnson, “ We’ve, ”, Mike Garcia
Organizations:
Republicans, Republican
Locations:
California