Washington - On Tuesday night, Mike Johnson emerged as the fourth Republican nominee to lead the US House of Representatives, following Tom Emmer's abrupt withdrawal earlier in the day. However, the question remains whether Johnson will break the deadlock caused by weeks of party infighting that has effectively paralyzed Congress.

Mike Johnson, representing Louisiana, has joined the ongoing struggle for the position of House Speaker. This leadership role has remained vacant since a faction within the Republican party ousted Kevin McCarthy on October 3rd. The Republican party's internal divisions have hindered Congress's ability to respond to conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine and have created the potential for a partial government shutdown on November 18th if no action is taken.

It remains uncertain whether Johnson can overcome the divisions that have hindered the previous three candidates who were nominated for the Speaker's position. Notably, in the nominating vote, the second-place finisher was Kevin McCarthy, who received 43 votes despite not being an official candidate.

Tom Emmer, the third-ranking House Republican, initially won the nomination but later withdrew due to opposition from the party's far-right members. Like Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan before him, Emmer faced resistance from a small group of holdouts within the party, preventing him from securing the 217 votes required for the position. Given the high threshold and the Republican party's narrow majority, any candidate can afford to lose just four votes if Democrats remain united in opposition.

Johnson, a conservative constitutional law attorney, has positioned himself as a bridge builder between the different Republican factions. His north-west Louisiana district is one of the poorest in the United States.

Tom Emmer, who was initially nominated and later withdrew, faced opposition from Donald Trump and voted to certify Joe Biden's 2020 victory over Trump following the January 6th, 2021 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters.

With Republicans controlling the House with a narrow 221-212 majority over Democrats, any GOP nominee can afford to lose only a few votes to secure the gavel. This internal turmoil within the Republican party has hindered their ability to conduct regular business, with significant challenges on the horizon, including the risk of a government shutdown in a matter of weeks and immediate funding requests from President Joe Biden.

The uncertainty surrounding the Speaker's position has also influenced the US government's borrowing costs, given the pressing need to address government funding and other critical issues. With the Speaker's role unfilled, the House is currently led by an interim speaker pro tempore, Rep. Patrick McHenry, who has the task of electing a more permanent speaker but has so far declined to back any overtures.