The rise of Mike Johnson as speaker signaled the demise of the old guard in the House of Representatives. Kevin McCarthy's political minions have taken a backseat and a new crop of conservative leaders now have the ear of the speaker.
Moving up five spots from the relatively unknown and useless role of conference vice-chairman to speaker, Johnson has often said he feels like he is “drinking from Niagara Falls” as he learns the ins and outs of the job that put him in second place. The Presidency.
The new speaker's inner circle, made up of strong Christian conservatives and border security hawks, is now more powerful as they work together on the Republican Party's top priorities.
Here are the Republicans in the House of Representatives that Johnson is closest to and with whom he consults regularly as he navigates a difficult conference and the 435-member body:
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise
As two lifelong Louisianans, the speaker maintains close contact with his No. 2, Steve Scalise – a major departure from the previous leadership dynamic.
The majority leader ran for Johnson's current job but could not gain the votes needed to become chairman. Scalise has held his seat in the House of Representatives for 15 years and has been in charge since 2014, when he first became his party's whip.
McCarthy and Scalise had a notoriously fraught relationship, with arguments that sometimes spilled into the audience.
“He has close ties with his colleagues in the judiciary, but also with the Louisiana delegation like Scalise, etc. He is a strong man of faith, so he is attracted to those types of members,” said a source close to the speaker.
Members looking for a personal conversation with the new speaker would do well to attend the weekly Bible study he holds on Capitol Hill.
As two lifelong Louisianans, the speaker maintains close contact with his No. 2, Steve Scalise – a major departure from previous leadership dynamics
Jodey Arrington, Chairman of the House Budget Committee
Johnson also consults regularly with two committee chairs: Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas.
The relationship between Arrington, chairman of the Budget Committee, and McCarthy had deteriorated when the former chairman took the Republican Party's budget agenda into his own hands. That left Arrington and his budget plan for the next decade on the sidelines.
Johnson is known to have close relations with the Southern delegation, and he and Arrington came to Congress at the same time in 2016. Both are devout Christians and family men and have been friends since long before the speakership.
Arrington had thought about entering the speaker's race himself — as did a plethora of other Republicans during the crazy three weeks without a leader. He ultimately decided against it and gave a nomination speech for Johnson behind closed doors to the Republicans.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Chair of Energy and Commerce
Rodgers, chairman of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, also gave a nomination speech for Johnson to Republicans. She and Johnson became friends shortly after he arrived in Congress in 2017, when she was chair of the GOP conference. When Johnson became vice chairman, he often turned to Rodgers about how to handle his role.
McCarthy, meanwhile, had been notoriously dependent on members like Reps. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., chairman of the Financial Services Committee and interim speaker after his ouster, and Garrett Graves, La., to make deals and straighten out the conference.
Speaker Mike Johnson has good contacts with chairs Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Jodey Arrington
Classmates, colleagues from the judiciary and southerners
The speaker became close to several other Southern Republicans who were freshmen members at the same time — including Rep. Drew Ferguson, Ala., who is an ally of Scalise and served as Republican deputy chief from 2018 to 2022.
He is also close to Lance Gooden, whose birthday party he attended last week. Gooden, R-Texas, took Johnson's seat on the Armed Services Committee when he became chairman and served on the Judiciary Committee. Gooden's wife is from Shreveport, La., Johnson's hometown.
They have been in “consistent contact” about Biden's impeachment inquiry — which should receive full House approval this week.
The speaker became close to a number of other Southern Republicans who were freshmen members at the same time — including Rep. Drew Ferguson, Ala.
He is also close to Lance Gooden, whose birthday party he attended last week
Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan
Johnson maintains regular contact with leading impeachment investigators, especially Ohio House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan.
Jordan, like Scalise, ran for speaker just before Johnson, but failed to get the votes needed to reach the leadership position.
But there is no bad blood between the two; Johnson was even briefly a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, of which Jordan remains a part.
However, Jordan and other Freedom Caucus-affiliated Republicans have shown the first signs of public frustration with Johnson over his handling of the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
“We just feel like he's not listening,” a Freedom Caucus source told DailyMail.com.
But Jordan could potentially smooth things over, as his relationship with Johnson has solidified during their years together on the committee.
Biden's other impeachment managers are House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, Kentucky, and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, Mo.
House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik
In Johnson's previous leadership position, conference vice chairman, he was Stefanik's right-hand man.
Earlier this month, Stefanik showed Johnson around her home state. The pair raked in more than $1.5 million in a show of Johnson's battlefield fundraising chops in New York.
The pair also did a double interview together last week on “Fox and Friends,” where they talked about George Santos, impeachment and aid to Ukraine.