By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor WASHINGTON (LBM) – U.S. Congressman Mike Johnson, a member of Cypress Baptist Church in Benton, Louisiana, has been elected House speaker, meaning he is second in the line of succession if President Joe Biden should be unable to serve. Johnson garnered 220 Republican votes in favor versus 209 Democrat votes against in the Oct. 25 House vote. Two seats in the House are vacant (one Democrat, one Republican) and four members did not vote (three Democrats, one Republican). The office of speaker has been vacant since Oct. 3, when Matt Gaetz, a member of First Baptist Church, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, led a GOP minority (eight congressmen) to join with Democrats to oust Kevin McCarthy, a member of Valley Baptist Church in Bakersfield, California, from this key leadership position. The drama was amplified by the failures of Majority Leader Steve Scalise, also of Louisiana, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, of Ohio, and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, of Minnesota, to capture enough support from their Republican colleagues to overcome the Democrats’ block of votes in their respective bids to be elected speaker. OVERWHELMING PRAISE Johnson has enjoyed overwhelming praise from … [Read more...]