Image via Greg Steube's X account: Steube, top left, prays with GOP lawmakers including Mike Johnson, bottom center.

The U.S. House has a new Speaker. But what’s that mean for the Sarasota-Bradenton area?

Both U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, and Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, boast a friendly relationship with new Speaker Mike Johnson. While changes of power often result in the touting of connections to a new wielder, there’s good reason to believe this area is better off now than it was when U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy wielded the gavel.

Most obvious, having a Speaker from the South at least means regional interests will align. Johnson, R-Louisiana, is the first Speaker from the Southeast United States since Georgian Newt Gingrich led the Republican Revolution of the mid-1990s. As long as no one says the words offshore oil drilling too loud, it’s better to have a Speaker from a nearish state, even if Florida couldn’t quite pull off a historic elevation of U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples.

Donalds was Buchanan’s choice to replace McCarthy. The Longboat Key Republican offered Donalds’ name twice on the floor in consecutive votes last week, mostly in protest of U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan’s nomination. But as a power vacuum attracted Donalds to run for real, Buchanan, co-chair of the Florida Congressional Delegation, whipped votes for him.

It didn’t pan out. But Buchanan saw an ally win nonetheless. When Buchanan sought the House Ways and Means Chairmanship this year he did have allies on the GOP Steering Committee, and Johnson was among the strongest, those involved in the campaign confirm. It just wasn’t enough to overcome a backstabbing by McCarthy, he preferred a personal lackey with less senior in the role. Maybe next time the committee meets, Buchanan will fare better.

As for Steube, he doesn’t have as long a history in the House as Buchanan, but his tenure overlaps Johnson’s. The Louisianan won his seat in the U.S. House in 2016, while Steube won his race in 2018. Both hail from a social conservative wing of the GOP Conference.

Steube’s first choice for Speaker was former President Donald Trump, an out-of-the-box idea but one allowed by law. Trump didn’t show much enthusiasm and endorsed Jordan, and Steube followed suit. But by the time the Conference nominated Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Steube was among those to say he could not support a moderate on the House floor. After Emmer dropped out, Steube posted on social media “I like Mike!” and supported Johnson for the role.

He also shared a photograph from January, the last time the House appeared locked in a Speaker fight, unable to rally a majority behind McCarthy. Steube, like Buchanan at the time, consistently supported McCarthy over numerous floor votes. Like most of the party, he saw little reason to force repeated, failed roll calls that dragged out for days.

A group of seven House members gathered on the House floor and openly prayed on the matter. Steube shared a photo this week on Twitter of the moment. The small group of lawmakers included himself and Johnson. After the prayer, 14 House members who protested McCarthy’s ascension changed their votes, breaking a deadlock and ultimately ending the protracted selection of a Speaker.

Above being a conservative, Steube calls Johnson a man of faith. That’s something the two share, and they proved it kneeling together in a public moment for the world to see. That meant something to Steube, and I’m sure it means plenty to Johnson as well.

Whatever one thinks the drama of the last month means for Congress, Sarasota has emerged with more influence than it enjoyed a month ago.

Jacob Ogles is contributing senior editor of SRQ MEDIA.

Image via Greg Steube's X account: Steube, top left, prays with GOP lawmakers including Mike Johnson, bottom center.