Johnson faces tight Speaker re-election vote tomorrow – National & International News – THU 2Jan2025

Johnson faces tight vote for reelection as speaker.

More details on New Orleans attacker; Feds now say he acted alone.

Concerns in Syria over new Islamist school curriculum.

NATIONAL NEWS

Johnson faces tight vote for reelection as speaker 

Tomorrow, members of the House will cast their first votes for Speaker for the 119th Congress. Despite a recent endorsement from President elect Donald Trump, current Speaker Mike Johnson is already facing resistance from the hard right within his own party. Because of the narrow GOP majority, Johnson can only afford to lose one vote from his own side in the speaker vote. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-WV) has already said he will not back Johnson. Others in the far right Freedom Caucus have said they are undecided. Democrats have said they will not vote to support Johnson in the Speaker vote, so Johnson must rally support from his own side.

At this moment, Johnson is still the favorite to become Speaker since no other candidate has yet emerged. Johnson is currently meeting with hold-outs and skeptics in his party ahead of tomorrow’s vote. It’s possible that the line will hold and Johnson will prevail on the first vote. Otherwise, Congress may face a days-long horse race as occurred with the election of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in 2023.

There are some pressing time constraints on resolving the question of the speakership. A Speaker must be seated for the new Congress in order to certify Trump’s win in the 2024 election. In addition, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says that the US will likely reach its debt ceiling on January 14. Beyond that, the Treasury can employ some extraordinary measures to buy a few more days. 

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More details come to light on New Orleans attacker; Feds now say he acted alone 

Yesterday, 42-year-old Shamsun Din Jabbar, a Texas native and army veteran, drove a truck through Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter, mowing down revelers ringing in the new year. The death toll from the attack has now risen from 10 to 15, with dozens still in hospital with serious injuries. 

Jabbar’s truck was bearing an ISIS flag and posts from him online suggest that he was inspired by ISIS. Yesterday, investigators said that they believed Jabbar had accomplices who were caught on camera placing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) around the French Quarter. However, the FBI now says that the people seen in those videos were not involved. Instead, they believe that Jabbar acted alone and placed the IEDs himself beforehand.

If true, Jabbar would not be the first “lone wolf” mass killer on US soil to have claimed allegiance to ISIS before carrying out a heinous act.

A complicated history

A complex and sometimes conflicting picture is emerging about Jabbar’s life and character. Jabbar’s family and friends have expressed shock at his actions. Friends and neighbors who have spoken to the media describe him as nice, thoughtful, charismatic, easygoing, not the type to act out violently. None seem to have spotted any warning signs to explain when and how Jabbar took this dark turn. 

Jabbar served in the US Army for more than a decade as a human resource and information technology specialist. He served in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010. Jabbar left active duty in January 2015 and remained in the Army Reserve until 2020. Jabbar has worked at consulting firms Deloitte and Accenture. Deloitte has confirmed that Jabbar was still working for them in a “staff level” position at the time of Wednesday’s incident. He also became active in real estate beginning in 2019. 

However, there are some signs pointing to past reckless behavior. Jabbar had several run-ins with the law. In 2002, when he would have been about 20, Jabbar pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft between $50 and $500. While serving at Fort Bragg in 2014, Jabbar was charged with a low level DWI, for which he paid a fine, served 12 months’ probation, and completed 24 hours of community service. 

Bitter divorces and money troubles 

In more recent years, Jabbar has had increasing money troubles. This is in part due to child and spousal support payments from three divorces, the most recent of which involved a restraining order. His most recent wife accused Jabbar in court filings of out-of-control spending, including on gifts for romantic partners. Court filings show Jabbar was heavily in debt and had incurred serious losses in his real estate ventures.

According to the FBI, Jabbar posted videos on Facebook discussing his plans in the hours and minutes ahead of the attack. In the videos, Jabbar referenced his divorces and said that he had initially planned to gather his family together for a “celebration” where he would kill all of them. Jabbar changed his mind because he wanted to bring media attention to a “war between the believers and the disbelievers”. Jabbar also proclaimed his support for ISIS in the videos. 

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No link found to Cyber truck attack on Trump hotel in Vegas.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Concerns in Syria over new Islamist school curriculum 

Since ousting Bashar al-Assad late last year, the new powers in Damascus have sought to paint themselves as friends to the West (and even to Israel) embracing cultural pluralism. In general, Syria’s new de facto leader Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa (also known by his nom de guerre Abu Muhammad Al-Julani) and his militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have received favorable, or at least forgiving, coverage in the Western press. Rarely do you see allusions to al-Sharaa’s past affiliations with Al-Qaeda, ISIS, or the brutal Al-Nusra Front.

Al-Sharaa has touted efforts by his nascent government to hold talks with Syria’s many minority cultural factions, including Christians, Druze, Armenians, Assyrians, non-Sunni Muslims, and Kurds. However, members of Syria’s liberal-minded civil society, many of whom are just now returning from years of exile, are seeing concerning signs that despite his promises, Islamist fundamentalist ideology will take precedence in al-Sharaa’s Syria. 

For example, disregarding promises of consultation with various groups, al-Sharaa’s government has unilaterally proposed changes to the school curriculum. These include erasing or minimizing references to Syria’s multi-millennia pre-Islamic history, something for which the regimes in Iran and Afghanistan have been criticized. There will also be no mention of evolution or the Big bang theory In science classes.

Potentially just as concerning is al-Sharaa’s timeline for establishing a constitutional democracy in the country. Al-Sharaa recently said it could take up to 3 years to draft a new constitution and 4 years to hold elections in Syria.

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