Biden weighs in on Mike Johnson, new Speaker of the House elected after weeks of chaos
Newly-elected House Speaker Mike Johnson played a leading role in trying to overturn the 2020 election.
WASHINGTON − President Joe Biden, weighing in for the first time on the new GOP House speaker, brushed aside concerns that the Louisiana lawmaker would try to overturn the 2024 election as he did in 2020.
Biden said any attempt to overturn the next presidential election would be as unsuccessful as Donald Trump's 2020 effort was.
“I understand the Constitution,” he said at a Rose Garden news conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The news conference began moments after House Republicans elected Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., speaker of the House, breaking weeks of unprecedented GOP infighting over who would lead the House.
Johnson played an important role in trying to overturn the 2020 election. Among his efforts, Johnson encouraged House Republicans to sign onto a legal brief backing an unsuccessful attempt to get the courts to throw out the election results in four battleground states that Trump lost.
Biden was asked Wednesday if he’s worried Johnson would try to overturn the 2024 election if Biden is re-elected.
“No,” he replied. “Just like I was not worried that the last guy would be able to overturn the election. They have about 60 lawsuits, and they all went to the Supreme Court, and, every time, they lost."
In a statement released after the news conference, Biden congratulated Johnson on his election and said he will seek to work with him “in good faith on behalf of the American people.”
“Even though we have real disagreements about important issues,” Biden said, “there should be mutual effort to find common ground wherever we can.”
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