众议院议长选举结果戏剧性，对特朗普在华盛顿的新共和党三连胜构成不祥之兆
【中美创新时报2025 年 1 月 4 日编译讯】（记者温友平编译）周五最后一刻的一些操作帮助约翰逊赢得了第一轮投票，让新众议员宣誓就职并开始工作。但是，在共和党人努力平衡自 1930 年代以来最微弱的众议院多数席位与政府资金和提高国家债务上限的最后期限之间时，执行最敷衍的治理任务的戏剧性并不是一个好兆头。《波士顿环球报》记者Jim Puzzanghera、Tal Kopan 和 Sam Brodey对此作了下述详细报道。
华盛顿——周五新一届国会的开始标志着共和党在去年秋天赢得联邦政府统一控制权后可能迎来黄金时代的开始。但当众议院议员聚集起来进行他们的第一项例行任务——选举议长时，共和党似乎陷入了时间扭曲。
众议院议长迈克·约翰逊保住职位的努力陷入困境，因为众议院共和党微弱多数中的三名极右翼保守派议员投票反对他。这次叛乱有可能使众议院陷入两年前的混乱，当时共和党人四天都无法选出议长，预示着即将出现的混乱局面。
周五最后一刻的一些操作帮助约翰逊赢得了第一轮投票，让新众议员宣誓就职并开始工作。但是，在共和党人努力平衡自 1930 年代以来最微弱的众议院多数席位与政府资金和提高国家债务上限的最后期限之间时，执行最敷衍的治理任务的戏剧性并不是一个好兆头。
“这毫无理由，”佐治亚州共和党人奥斯汀·斯科特在约翰逊最终获胜后表示。“这只是一个不幸的情况，有几个人以这种方式行事，夺走了共和党本应美好的一天。”
周五的议长选举揭开了共和党新的三重统治的序幕：本月晚些时候唐纳德·特朗普就职后，共和党将控制众议院、参议院和白宫。特朗普周一支持约翰逊出任议长。
但共和党在选举中总共失去了两个众议院席位。随着佛罗里达州众议员马特·盖茨的辞职，该党暂时仅以 219 比 215 领先。这意味着，如果民主党团结一致反对，共和党只需失去一票就能获得通过立法所需的 218 票。
议长选举首次证明了在如此微弱的多数下，仅仅几名议员就能造成混乱。
一位共和党人，来自肯塔基州的托马斯·马西，已经发誓不会支持约翰逊，因为他与民主党达成了支出协议，并有其他不满。当南卡罗来纳州众议员拉尔夫·诺曼和马西一起投票给另一位共和党人时，约翰逊似乎将在第一轮投票中落败，随后是来自德克萨斯州的基思·塞尔夫。少数其他极端保守派人士在唱名表决结束前一直不投票，但最终还是站在了约翰逊一边。
约翰逊与诺曼、塞尔夫和几位最初的反对者私下聚在一起，沮丧的共和党人暂时休息了一下。
“我们不要玩这个。如果我们不小心，事情会变得很愚蠢，”德克萨斯州众议员特洛伊·内尔斯 (Troy Nehls) 说道，他躲出了议院几分钟，警告众议院共和党人在下次选举中冒着失去多数席位的风险。 “唐纳德·特朗普需要四年时间来修复这个国家。如果我们不聪明，如果我们不小心，如果我们继续在众议院玩游戏，他可能只能得到两年。”
大约 45 分钟后，约翰逊和诺曼、塞尔夫一起回到议院，站在他们旁边，与众议院书记员交换投票。约翰逊与他们握手，众议院共和党人为他们改变主意而欢呼。
民主党人全都投票支持他们的领袖、纽约州的哈基姆·杰弗里斯 (Hakeem Jeffries)，他承诺在可能的情况下与约翰逊合作。众议院民主党人表示，他们已准备好继续共和党的失灵——以及一个影响立法的机会。
“让他挥舞一会儿，弄清楚数到 218 有多难，”马萨诸塞州民主党众议员杰克·奥金克洛斯 (Jake Auchincloss) 谈到约翰逊时说。“然后，因为你想做点什么，民主党人会与他们合作处理能源和边境安全问题。”
尽管这个过程很混乱，但许多共和党人都关注结果。
“这个城镇的发展很少是直线性的，”南达科他州众议员达斯蒂·约翰逊说。“但听着，我们在第一轮就选出了议长。我认为这是未来发展的好兆头。”
加州共和党众议员道格·拉马尔法表示，他对议长选举结果并不感到困惑，但他强调，共和党现在掌控了华盛顿，因此面临的风险要大得多。
“我们现在必须做得更好一些，我们没有太多的借口，”他说。“最终，我们将为我们作为多数派所做的事情负责。”
拉马尔法承认，有少数共和党议员“可以很快把事情搞砸”，他说，挑战在于采取一种更渐进、更务实的方法，而这种方法已经被党派的基本盘所拒绝。
但在约翰逊做到这一点之前，他必须设法安抚极右翼成员。
随着周五中午投票的临近，他在社交媒体平台 X 上发表了一份长篇承诺，承诺“缩小联邦政府的规模和范围，追究官僚机构的责任，推动美国走上更可持续的财政轨道”，这显然是向那些对他担任议长持保留态度的右翼议员伸出的橄榄枝。然而，这些承诺缺乏具体的让步，仅限于承诺审查政府支出。
约翰逊的任期因一些众议院共和党人对他在预算谈判中无法战胜国会民主党人而深感沮丧甚至愤怒。正是这些因素导致前议长凯文·麦卡锡在 2023 年上任不到九个月后下台。
但与麦卡锡下台时不同，这一次特朗普将于 1 月 20 日就任总统，他公开支持路易斯安那州保守派后座议员约翰逊，后来在麦卡锡下台的混乱中成为妥协的选择。
众议院议长迈克·约翰逊在 11 月的众议院共和党会议上与当选总统唐纳德·特朗普在台上握手。
众议院议长迈克·约翰逊在 11 月的众议院共和党会议上与当选总统唐纳德·特朗普在台上握手。Andrew Harnik/Getty
众议院自由党团是一群主张大幅削减政府规模和支出的保守派人士，该党团在投票后发布了一封信，称尽管对约翰逊“有诚意的保留”，但他们还是支持特朗普，并支持他。CNN 报道称，当选总统周五致电诺曼和塞尔夫，敦促他们支持约翰逊。
议员们列出了他们对约翰逊的要求，包括削减开支、更具包容性的立法程序、延长众议院工作周和保守派政策优先事项。
签名者之一、田纳西州众议员安迪·奥格尔斯告诉记者，这封信“是关于问责制的”，他认为确保财政责任是自己工作的一部分。但他也努力确保约翰逊在第一轮投票中当选议长。
“接下来的两年将会很忙，有时甚至很痛苦，但我们还有工作要做，”奥格尔斯说。“我们有责任完成这项工作，这就是为什么你看到我们中的一些人与那些顽固分子一起工作，以确保我们能够顺利完成这项工作。”
众议院在先选出议长之前无法开展任何工作，而旷日持久的争斗可能会使周一特朗普当选的认证变得复杂，并推迟众议院开始实施共和党的减税、边境安全和削减政府开支的议程。
约翰逊周四承认了这种可能性，他引用了周三发生在新奥尔良的恐怖袭击事件作为“我们生活在非常严峻的时代的例证”。
“我们不能在这里承受任何宫廷戏剧，”他告诉福克斯新闻，并表达了对自己能保住这份工作的乐观态度。
但众议院微弱的多数优势在好转之前会变得更糟。特朗普已宣布将提名两名众议院共和党人，纽约州的艾丽斯·斯特凡尼克和佛罗里达州的迈克·沃尔兹，担任其政府职务。他们在未来几周内离职，将在举行这些席位的特别选举之前进一步缩小多数席位，共和党候选人预计将保留这些席位。
题图：众议院议长迈克·约翰逊在 1 月 3 日第 119 届国会第一天赢得众议院议长选举后获得掌声。MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
附原英文报道：
Dramatic House speaker vote poses ominous sign for Trump’s new Republican trifecta in Washington
By Jim Puzzanghera, Tal Kopan and Sam Brodey Globe Staff,Updated January 3, 2025
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson receives applause after winning the vote for Speaker of the House, during the first day of the 119th Congress on Jan. 3.MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
WASHINGTON — The start of a new Congress Friday marked the dawn of what could be a golden era for Republicans after winning unified control of the federal government last fall. But as House members gathered for their first routine task — electing a speaker — Republicans appeared trapped in a time warp.
Speaker Mike Johnson’s bid to retain his job was in trouble as three hard-right conservative members within the razor-thin Republican majority in the House voted against him. The revolt threatened to plunge the chamber into the same chaos of two years ago, when Republicans were unable to choose a speaker for four days in a foreshadowing of the dysfunction to come.
Some last-minute maneuvering Friday helped Johnson pull out a first-ballot win and allow new House members to be sworn in and get to work. But the drama in performing the most perfunctory task of governing doesn’t bode well as Republicans grapple with balancing the slimmest House majority since the 1930s with approaching deadlines on government funding and increasing the nation’s debt limit.
“There was no reason for this,” Austin Scott, a Georgia Republican, said after Johnson finally prevailed. “It’s just an unfortunate situation where you have a couple of people that conduct themselves in that manner and took away what should have been a wonderful day for Republicans.”
Friday’s speaker vote was the opening act for the Republicans’ new ruling trifecta: control of the House, Senate, and White House after Donald Trump’s inauguration later this month. Trump endorsed Johnson for speaker on Monday.
But Republicans lost two House seats overall in the election. And with the resignation of Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, the party holds just a 219-215 edge for the time being. That means Republicans can afford to lose only one vote to get the 218 necessary to pass legislation if Democrats are unified in opposition.
The speaker election was the first demonstration of how just a couple of members can cause chaos under this tiny majority.
One Republican, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, had already vowed not to back Johnson over spending deals he cut with Democrats and other grievances. And Johnson appeared headed toward a first-ballot loss when South Carolina Representative Ralph Norman joined Massie in casting his vote for another Republican, followed by Keith Self of Texas. A handful of other archconservatives withheld their votes until the end of the roll call but ultimately sided with Johnson.
Frustrated Republicans took a break as Johnson huddled in private with Norman, Self, and several of the original holdouts.
“Let’s not play this. This is going to get silly if we’re not careful,” said Texas Representative Troy Nehls as he ducked out of the chamber for a few minutes, warning House Republicans were risking their majority in the next election. “Donald Trump needs four years to fix this country. And if we’re not smart, if we’re not careful, he may only get two if we keep playing games in the House.”
After about 45 minutes, Johnson returned to the chamber with Norman and Self, standing alongside them as they changed their votes with the House clerk. Johnson shook their hands as the Republican side of the House cheered their change of heart.
Democrats all voted for their leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who pledged to work with Johnson when possible. House Democrats said they were prepared for a continuation of Republican dysfunction — and an opportunity to shape legislation.
“Let him flail around for a while and figure out that it’s hard to count to 218,” Democratic Representative Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts said about Johnson. “And then because you want to get something done, Democrats would work with them on energy and border security stuff.”
Despite the messiness of the process, many Republicans focused on the outcome.
“Progress in this town is rarely in a straight line,” said Representative Dusty Johnson of South Dakota. “But listen, we elected a speaker on the first round. I think that is a good sign for things to come.”
Representative Doug LaMalfa, a California Republican, said he wasn’t fazed by the speaker vote but underscored that the stakes are substantially higher for Republicans now that they’re in control in Washington.
“We’re going to have to do a bit better now, and we don’t have a lot of excuses,” he said. “Ultimately, we’re going to be held accountable for what we do as this majority.”
Acknowledging that there are a few Republican lawmakers “who can gum it up real fast,” LaMalfa said the challenge will be embracing a more incremental, pragmatic approach that the party’s base has rejected.
But before Johnson could do that, he had to try to appease hard-right members.
As Friday’s noontime vote neared, he issued a lengthy pledge on the social media platform X to “reduce the size and scope of the federal government, hold the bureaucracy accountable, and move the United States to a more sustainable fiscal trajectory,” an apparent olive branch to the right-wing lawmakers who had expressed reservations about his speakership. The promises, however, lacked specific concessions and were limited to commitments to review government spending.
Johnson’s tenure has been marked by deep frustration and even anger from some House Republicans over his inability to get the best of congressional Democrats in budget negotiations. Those were the same dynamics that led to former speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster after less than nine months in the job in 2023.
But unlike when McCarthy fell, this time Trump will be president on Jan. 20 and he has publicly backed Johnson, a Louisiana conservative backbencher before emerging from the chaos of McCarthy’s ouster as a compromise choice.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson shook hands with President-elect Donald Trump onstage at a House Republicans Conference meeting in November.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson shook hands with President-elect Donald Trump onstage at a House Republicans Conference meeting in November. Andrew Harnik/Getty
The House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservatives who believe in significantly cutting the government’s size and spending, released a letter after the vote saying that despite “sincere reservations” about Johnson they backed him out of their support for Trump. CNN reported that the president-elect made calls to Norman and Self on Friday to urge them to back Johnson.
The lawmakers laid out their requests of Johnson, including spending cuts, a more inclusive legislative process, longer House work weeks, and conservative policy priorities.
One of the signees, Tennessee Representative Andy Ogles, told reporters that the letter was “about accountability,” and that he sees it as part of his job to ensure fiscal responsibility. But he also worked to ensure Johnson was elected speaker on the first ballot.
“The next two years is going to be busy and at times, probably painful, but we still have a job to do,” Ogles said. “We have a responsibility to get it done, and so that’s why you saw a few of us working with kind of the holdouts, to make sure we could land the plane and get it done.”
The House can’t conduct any business without first electing a speaker and a protracted fight over the job could have complicated certification of Trump’s election on Monday, as well as delayed the chamber getting to work on the Republican agenda of tax cuts, border security, and slashing government spending.
Johnson nodded to that potential on Thursday, citing Wednesday’s terrorist attack in New Orleans as “an illustration we live in very serious times.”
“We cannot afford any palace drama here,” he told Fox News, expressing optimism that he’d retain the job.
But the slim House majority will get worse before it gets better. Trump has announced he will nominate two House Republicans, Elise Stefanik of New York and Mike Waltz of Florida, for positions in his administration. Their departures in the coming weeks will narrow that majority even more before the special elections for those seats, which Republican candidates are expected to retain.
