The Constitution was violated when state election laws were changed without following the state legislature's role in setting election rules before the 2020 election due to COVID. A Republican lawmaker argued, based on these constitutional issues, to reject the Electoral College results, a move supported by a majority of the Republican conference. This surprising emergence led the lawmaker to become the speaker after his predecessor fell, expressing gratitude and aiming to work together despite differing views.
Congress is back in session and the House speakership is once again on the line. The New Yorker’s David Kirkpatrick explains how Mike Johnson got the gavel and whether he’ll be able to keep it.
This episode was produced by Amanda Lewellyn, edited by Amina Al-Sadi with help from Miranda Kennedy, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by David Herman, and hosted by Noel King.
Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained
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