Utah House confirms Rep. Mike Schultz as speaker
Nov 15, 2023, 6:36 PM | Updated: 9:23 pm
House Majority Leader Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, selected as the House speaker, walks in to speak to the press following the House Majority Caucus leadership election at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. (Megan Nielsen, Deseret News)
(Megan Nielsen, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, is officially the new speaker of the Utah House of Representatives.
After a closed-door caucus vote on Tuesday night, which Schultz won, the Utah House of Representatives held an “extraordinary special session” to confirm Schultz as speaker on Wednesday night.
It was a full vote in the Republican-controlled House. According to a release, Schultz “received unanimous support and was sworn in by former Speaker Brad Wilson.”
On Tuesday, Schultz announced new House leadership. According to a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), the new leadership includes Rep. Jefferson Moss, R-Draper, as House majority leader, Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, as House majority whip, and Rep. Casey Snider, R-Paradise, as majority assistant whip.
This evening, the Utah House Majority Caucus elected a new leadership team:
Speaker of the House – Mike Schultz
Majority Leader – Jefferson Moss
Majority Whip – Karianne Lisonbee
Majority Assistant Whip – Casey Sniderhttps://t.co/pDyMD4xScZ pic.twitter.com/wpBmBBZVKE— Utah House Majority (@utahhousereps) November 15, 2023
Schultz said the caucus will meet to hammer out specifics, but priorities will include water issues, transportation, and energy.
“There simply is not enough electricity out there in working to keep the lights on in the state of Utah,” he said. “We never want to see the blackouts that have hit other states.”
He also wants to regain Utahns’ trust.
“There’s a lot of distrust in government right now,” Schultz said. “I want the House of Representatives to earn some of that trust back.”
Shultz also had some nice words for outgoing Speaker Brad Wilson and said he fully supports Wilson’s run for the U.S. Senate. Schultz will be Utah’s House speaker for the remainder of the 2023 through 2024 legislative term.
