In the end, after three weeks of embarrassing paralysis simply trying to find someone from their ranks to lead the House of Representatives, GOP members settled on someone unfamiliar to most of the country.

Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson is our new speaker of the House. A member since only 2016, Johnson ascended anyway, probably due as much to simple exhaustion as anything else.

On the surface, his selection isn’t encouraging, given the need for compromise to get the people’s business done. Johnson voted against keeping the government open until Nov. 17, the bill that ultimately did in Kevin McCarthy as speaker. He also opposed aid to Ukraine, not once but twice. Ridiculous.

Johnson is ardently anti-abortion and a fierce foe of gay marriage. He’s hawkish to a fault on the fiscal front. When he headed the Republican Study Committee, it released a 10-year plan to balance the budget that, among other things, proposed ending Medicare as we know it and turning it into a “premium support system.”

Most worrisome of all, he’s an enthusiastic proponent of Donald Trump’s continuing challenge to the results of the 2020 election. Johnson played a key advisory role in the run-up to Jan. 6 and was among the 146 who opposed certifying the election. He has yet to acknowledge that Joe Biden won the election fair and square, three years after the fact. Also ridiculous.

Surrounded by his Republican colleagues in his appearance before reporters shortly following his selection as speaker, Johnson was asked about helping lead the efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He smiled wanly and shook his head while North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx yelled twice at the reporter to “shut up.” “Next question,” he said.

Not a good start. Johnson needs to learn to answer reasonable questions.

Still, there’s always the possibility that an unknown Johnson can grow, now that he’s assumed a leadership post. It’s different to be in charge of the House — the job isn’t just to lead the party in the majority; it’s to direct the chamber — rather than serving as one of 435, taking red-meat positions to please the folks back home.

Over the next 12 months before voters again choose a president, Johnson has a few jobs to get done. First, he must keep the government open. Encouragingly, he’s already expressed support to extend funding until January or April to give time to appropriators to compile bills making funding choices.

If Congress could pass individual spending bills, that in and of itself would be remarkable. With the two parties in pitched camps for years, Congress has grown used to passing omnibus spending legislation. Some might remember when appropriations subcommittees would decide on how much to spend on specific departments and programs. That’s how the process is supposed to work.

Of course, that process by its nature necessitates bipartisanship. Neither party has full control in Washington, tantrum throwers notwithstanding.

The second major task is to approve aid to Israel and Ukraine. Republicans very much support the Israeli aid; many oppose more money to Ukraine. Supporting both countries in our view is clearly in the interest of the U.S. as the world bites its nails before these geopolitical storms. Johnson has voted against aid for Ukraine in the past. What will he do now that people outside of his district are paying attention?

Much is at stake. The circus the GOP just went through to settle on Johnson doesn’t only negatively affect the reputation of the Republican Party. It further undermines what remains of public confidence in our institutions to attend to urgent national business. And that’s true at home and abroad.