Nevada House Representatives react to newly elected Speaker Mike Johnson

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nevada politicians from across the aisle are weighing in on the election of new House Speaker Mike Johnson, following a three-week impasse that has largely shuttered Congress.

Johnson was elected with 220 votes on Wednesday morning, becoming the most junior congressman to take the position in decades with only four years of experience.

Though Johnson lacks widespread name recognition, he has been a central figure in House Republican politics in recent years. He most recently assumed the role of vice chair of the House Republican Conference in 2021, where he became the fifth-highest-ranked Republican in the House.

Johnson was first elected to Congress in 2016, representing Lousiana, and has easily won reelection bids in 2018 and 2020. He ran unopposed in 2022.

Representative Mark Amodei — the only Nevada Republican in office — issued a statement after voting "present" during the conference meeting on Tuesday night, ahead of the speaker vote. Though he admitted he and Johnson "haven't crossed paths much," he was encouraged after Johnson gave him "direct access to key staff members" who would handle key issues affecting Nevada.

Representative Dina Titus was the first Nevada Democrat to comment on Johnson's nomination on X, which was largely sarcastic.

Following Johnson's election, the representative issued a formal statement an hour later: "I represent a district that values unity and compromise in Congress. Speaker Mike Johnson has embraced some of the most far-right positions in the GOP conference."

Representative Steven Horsford did not issue a formal statement initially, instead reposting a statement from the Black Caucus, which he served as chairman. The tweet addressed a moment that went viral on social media during a press conference to announce Johnson's nomination, calling it "inappropriate."

House Republicans can be heard booing and telling ABC's Rachel Scoot to "shut up" and "go away" after she asked a question about Johnson's recent vote to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Representative Susie Lee, who represents Nevada's third congressional district, posted a thread on X condemning Johnson's "extremist" beliefs.

She added, "After more than three weeks of House Republican chaos bringing our work for the American people to a standstill, the House GOP has given up, caved in, and put extremism over common sense governance."

Now that Johnson has been elected as Speaker, his first task will be to rally the House to pass a bill by mid-November to keep the government open, among other deadlines.