Rep. Courtney on Election of New House Speaker

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) issued the following statement following the election of Mike Johnson as the 56^th Speaker of the House—the third in line for President of the United States.

“As critical priorities stack up, like passing a federal budget and delivering aid to our allies Ukraine and Israel, it is blindingly obvious that we need a Speaker of the House who understands that a bipartisan approach is the only way a divided Congress can meet these challenges successfully. 

“For example, last May, a coalition of Democrats and Republicans came together to avert a catastrophic default on the full faith and credit of our Treasury notes. More recently, a similar coalition came together in September to keep the federal government open until November 17. 

“Over the last 22 days, Leader Jeffries, with my support, offered to join hands with the Republican majority to create a bipartisan path forward for a basic level of communication and collaboration to achieve stability. 

“With the election of Speaker Mike Johnson, it is not clear that path will be followed. I certainly reaffirm that the offer still stands. I hope as the serious mantle of his new role sinks in, he will understand that to be successful he must rise above polarized factionalism that has bedeviled the 118th Congress.”