WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) issued the following statement after Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives:

“I will immediately seek to find common ground with Speaker Johnson, but it’s no secret our voting records look very different,” said Houlahan. “His efforts to overturn the 2020 Presidential election should concern us all, and I remain apprehensive about what his leadership could mean for the integrity of our democratic institutions. I also worry that the expeditious nature of his nomination has not given the American people enough time to understand who he is and what he stands for on a host of key issues, including funding our government, protecting women’s reproductive freedoms, and strengthening democracies abroad.”

Houlahan added: “That being said, I respect my colleagues on the other side of the aisle’s right to elect their leader. As I’ve done in the military many times before, I will carry on with the mission my community sent me to Congress to do – deliver real results for the American people. It is my sincere hope that Speaker Johnson will support the many bipartisan initiatives I’m leading right now. Whether it’s my bipartisan Paid Family Leave Working Group, Climate Solutions Caucus, military Quality of Life panel, or my work to reduce veterans’ benefits backlogs, protect mushroom farmers, and grown our STEM workforce pipeline, just to name a few.”

“There is work to be done. The House must now come together and work bipartisanly to support our allies, reform our broken immigration system, and responsibly fund our government. I look forward to working with the new House leadership wherever possible.”

Rep. Houlahan voted for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker. The final vote was 220-209.

Houlahan is an Air Force veteran, an engineer, a serial entrepreneur, an educator, and a nonprofit leader. She represents Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District, which encompasses Chester County and southern Berks County. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. She is the recipient of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Abraham Lincoln Leadership for America Award which “recognizes members who demonstrate the bipartisan leadership and constructive governing necessary to move our country forward” and the Congressional Management Foundation’s 2022 Democracy Award for best Constituent Services in Congress.

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