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Shreveport Times | The Times

Here's what happened with Mike Johnson, 50 Cent, Louisiana National guard over weekend

By Greg Hilburn, Shreveport Times,

11 days ago
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Louisiana's weekend was packed with news, so for those who unplugged from work and media here's a recap in case you missed it.

Speaker Mike Johnson of Shreveport scores win, keeps job for now

U.S. House Speaker Speaker Mike Johnson of Shreveport pushed through a package of bills Saturday with bipartisan support to provide $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies in a major victory for his speakership.

Johnson's speakership also continues to repel, at least for now, a threat to fire him from a handful of rebel Republicans led by Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

Johnson needed help from Democrats to pass the Ukraine bill, putting his job on the line, but some Democrats also signalled that they would come to his rescue if the rogue Republicans attemp to oust him.

Johnson has said he considers himself a "wartime speaker" and insisted he won't be swayed by threats to his job by the hard-right resistance in his own party.

“I don’t walk around this building being worried about a motion to vacate," he told reporters Saturday after passing the legislation. "I have to do my job. We did. I’ve done here what I believe to be the right thing. If you do the right thing, you let the chips fall where they may.”

The Senate is expected to vote on the package of foreign aid bills Tuesday and President Joe Biden said he will sign the bills immediately.

Louisiana National Guard deploys second group of troops to border

The Louisiana National Guard has more boots on the ground in Texas after sending a second platoon of 50 men and women to assist the state with border security, replacing the first rotation of Louisiana soldiers who had been there since March.

Louisiana's troops will continue to assist the Texas National Guard with patrols on the U.S. southern border with Mexico to "prevent, detect and deter" illegal crossings, but they won't detain any migrants crossing the border illegally, Brig. Gen. Michael Greer said previously.

Each rotation will last about 30 days. The task force command team, consisting of the company commander and first sergeant, will remain in place for the entire 90-day mission.

“Now that we have been here for a month, we have established a battle rhythm that benefits the soldiers,“ said Capt. Zach Neely, commander of Task Force Lone Star. “The soldiers on the first iteration performed their duty to the highest standard. First Sgt. (Darron) Murray and I had no doubt the soldiers on the first rotation would make Louisiana proud.”

50 Cent loves Shreveport; the feeling is mutual

Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson continued to promote Shreveport over the weekend by posting a video on X highlighting the launch of the entertianment mogul's G-Unit Studios in Louisiana's third largest city to expand his TV and film empire.

The video had more than 200,000 impressions by Monday morning and his expansion into Shreveport generated national publicity for the city with stories from outlets like Forbes and The Hollywood Reporter.

Mayor Tom Arceneaux declared April 18 Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson day and gave him the key to the city during an event in Government Plaza last week.

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.

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