Mike Johnson (Louisiana politician)

Mike Johnson (Louisiana politician)
James Michael Johnson (born January 30, 1972) is an American politician serving as the 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives since October 25, 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Johnson is in his fourth House term, having represented since 2017.
Johnson is a graduate of the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University. Before entering politics, Johnson worked as an attorney in private practice and for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF); at ADF, he advocated for sodomy laws and criminalizing homosexuality and wrote a prominent amicus brief that opposed the eventual U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v. Texas (2003). He proceeded to serve on the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention between 2004 and 2012. Johnson's political career began when he was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 2015; he served in that body until 2017.
Johnson was first elected to represent in 2016. During his time in Congress, he contested the results of the 2020 presidential election on the House floor and in court. He also supported bills that would institute a nationwide ban on abortion. Johnson served as chair of the Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus of conservatives in Congress, from 2019 to 2021. He was vice chair of the House Republican Conference from 2021 to 2023.
On October 25, 2023, following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy from the speakership, Johnson was elected as the 56th speaker of the House. He is the first House speaker from Louisiana and the most junior representative to be elected speaker since John G. Carlisle in 1883.
Early life and education
Johnson was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, the oldest of four children of Jeanne Johnson and the late James Patrick "Pat" Johnson (who died in 2016). He has said that he is the product of an unplanned pregnancy and that his parents were teenagers when they had him. They later divorced.
In 1984, while serving with the Shreveport Fire Department, Pat Johnson was severely injured and disabled in a fire at a cold storage facility. A fellow firefighter, Captain Percy R. Johnson, was killed in that fire. Pat Johnson never returned to work as a firefighter, choosing instead to become a HazMat consultant. He also co-founded the Percy R. Johnson Burn Foundation, which aided burn victims and their families.
The younger Johnson wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, but his parents forbade him from becoming a firefighter.
Johnson is a graduate of Captain Shreve High School in Shreveport. In 1995, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Louisiana State University. In 1998, he graduated from Louisiana State's Paul M. Hebert Law Center with a Juris Doctor degree.
Legal career
Before his election to Congress, Johnson was senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, now known as Alliance Defending Freedom. While working at Alliance Defending Freedom, he wrote an amicus brief opposing the eventual U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v. Texas (2003), while supporting sodomy laws that would criminalize homosexuality. In 2004, he defended Louisiana Amendment 1, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman within the Louisiana Constitution, against legal challenges.
In August 2010, Johnson was named the "founding dean" of the newly established Pressler School of Law at Louisiana College. The law school never actually opened, and Johnson resigned in August 2012. The parent college has since been embroiled in administrative and legal problems.
He served from 2004 to 2012 on the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.
In 2015, Johnson founded Freedom Guard, a nonprofit legal ministry designed to represent Christian clients in lawsuits. He was its chief counsel. During his time in Freedom Guard, he "defended the sports chaplaincy program at Louisiana State University from attacks that it was unconstitutional". Also, when Kentucky officials withdrew millions of dollars of tax breaks from the Ark Encounter theme park in Williamstown, Kentucky because Ark Encounter required park employees to affirm that they held Young Earth creationist beliefs, Johnson represented Ark Encounter and its owner, Answers in Genesis, in a 2015 federal lawsuit.
In September 2016, Johnson summarized his legal career as "defending religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, and biblical values, including the defense of traditional marriage, and other ideals like these when they've been under assault".
Johnson is a professor at Liberty University and teaches classes at its Helms School of Government. From roughly 2015 to 2022, he was a guest host of Tony Perkins's radio talk show Washington Watch.
Louisiana House of Representatives
The 8th District seat of the Louisiana House of Representatives was vacated in 2015 when Jeff R. Thompson was elected to a state district judgeship. Johnson ran to succeed him and was unopposed.
In April 2015, Johnson proposed the Marriage and Conscience Act. It would have prevented the state from engaging in adverse treatment of any person or entity based upon their beliefs about marriage. Critics denounced the bill as an attempt to protect people who discriminate against same-sex married couples. Governor Bobby Jindal pledged to sign Johnson's bill into law if it passed the legislature, commenting in a New York Times editorial that "musicians, caterers, photographers and others should be immune from government coercion on deeply held religious convictions". IBM and other employers in the region expressed opposition to the bill, including concerns about hiring difficulties it would likely produce. Other politicians also objected, including Republican Baton Rouge Metro Councilman John Delgado, who called Johnson a "despicable bigot of the highest order" for proposing the bill. Johnson replied that he "wished Delgado had taken the time to review his record and career before making 'such hateful, wildly inaccurate statements'".
On May 19, 2015, the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee voted 10–2 to table the bill, effectively ending its chances to become law. Both Republicans and Democrats voted against the bill; other than Johnson, only Republican Ray Garofalo voted for it. In response, Jindal issued an executive order to enforce its intent.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
On February 10, 2016, Johnson announced his candidacy for the 4th congressional district seat, which had been held for eight years by John Fleming. Fleming was running for the United States Senate seat vacated by David Vitter. Johnson won the election.
In 2018, Johnson won a second House term, defeating Democratic nominee Ryan Trundle, 139,307 votes (64%) to 72,923 votes (34%).
In 2020, Johnson won a third House term with 185,265 votes (60%) to Democratic nominee Kenny Houston's 78,157 votes (25%).
In 2022, Johnson won reelection unopposed.
Early tenure
Johnson was sworn into office as a member of Congress on January 3, 2017. He has served as vice chairman of the Republican Conference, a deputy whip for House Republicans, a member of the Judiciary Committee, a member of the Armed Services Committee, and a chairman of the Republican Study Committee. Johnson was supported by the House Freedom Caucus PAC and frequently attended its meetings while never formally joining as a member.
Johnson voted for the American Health Care Act of 2017, which would have repealed the Affordable Care Act.
In December 2017, Johnson voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. After voting for the act, he called the economy "stunted" and a "burden" on Americans, adding, "The importance of this moment cannot be overstated. With the first comprehensive tax reform in 31 years, we will dramatically strengthen the U.S. economy and restore economic mobility and opportunity for hardworking individuals and families all across this country." Johnson stated that reducing corporate taxes "will unleash the free market again" and "could get [GDP growth] as high as 6 or 7 percent".
Johnson was among 147 Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
Johnson has worked closely with the Christian groups Answers in Genesis, Louisiana Family Forum, Alliance Defending Freedom, and Focus on the Family.
On May 19, 2021, Johnson and all other seven Republican House leaders in the 117th Congress voted against establishing a national commission to investigate the January 6, 2021, storming of the United States Capitol. Thirty-five Republican House members and all 217 Democrats present voted to establish the commission.
After the 2022 midterm elections, Representative Andy Biggs proposed Johnson as a possible compromise candidate for Speaker of the House instead of Republican Conference leader Kevin McCarthy, after members of the House Freedom Caucus opposed McCarthy's bid for the speakership.
In 2023, Johnson became chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government.
Committee assignments
The following is a list of Johnson's former committee assignments before becoming Speaker:
Committee on the Judiciary
Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government (Chair)
Subcommittee on Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust
Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet
Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government
Committee on Armed Services
Subcommittee on Readiness
Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems
Caucus memberships
Republican Study Committee
Congressional Western Caucus
Speaker of the House
Nomination
After Kevin McCarthy was removed from the position of speaker of the House in October 2023, Representative Matt Gaetz floated Johnson's name as a potential replacement. On October 13, 2023, Johnson said that he would not run in the October 2023 speaker election and endorsed colleague Jim Jordan; on the same day, NBC News reported that Johnson was considering running if Jordan dropped out.
On October 21, after Steve Scalise and Jordan had made unsuccessful bids for speaker, Johnson declared his candidacy to become the Republican nominee for speaker but was beaten by Tom Emmer on October 24. Emmer defeated Johnson, 117 votes to 97, on the fifth ballot. Shortly thereafter, Emmer withdrew his candidacy for the speakership. Later on October 24, House Republicans voted to make Johnson their fourth nominee for speaker; he beat Byron Donalds, 128 votes to 29, on the third ballot. Johnson's bid was endorsed by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
On October 25, the full House voted, 220–209, to elect Johnson as the 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Every Republican member in attendance voted for Johnson. Johnson was also sworn in as speaker on October 25. He is the first speaker in U.S. history from Louisiana. When he took office as speaker, Johnson had served in Congress for six years and ten months, the shortest tenure of any House member elected speaker in 140 years. John G. Carlisle, elected speaker in 1883, had fewer days in office at the time of his election to the speakership. Delivering his first remarks as speaker, he suggested that his position was ordained by God, saying: "I believe that Scripture, the Bible, is very clear: that God is the one who raises up those in authority".
Speaker tenure
On October 26, Johnson met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia during the latter's state visit to the United States. Later that day, he also met with President Joe Biden for the first time as speaker before attending a bipartisan briefing held at the White House on the administration's proposed funding requests for aid to Ukraine and Israel. On October 30, Johnson suggested rescinding IRS funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to provide Israel $14.3 billion in aid.
Political positions
Johnson is a member of the Christian right faction of the Republican Party. His inaugural speech as speaker of the House emphasized his Southern Baptist beliefs as the basis for his politics.
Johnson holds "ultraconservative positions on abortion [...] and same-sex marriages". He is especially known for his extensive and outspoken opposition to legal abortion and gay rights, which began before he held elected office.
2020 election
In early November 2020, after many pollsters and media outlets called the 2020 United States presidential election in favor of Joe Biden over Donald Trump, Johnson said that he spoke to Trump twice, recounting that he urged Trump to "exhaust every available legal remedy to restore Americans' trust in the fairness of our election system" and that he was heartened by Trump's intention to ensure "that all instances of fraud and illegality are investigated and prosecuted".
On November 17, 2020, Johnson said: "You know the allegations about these voting machines, some of them being rigged with this software by Dominion, there's a lot of merit to that. And when the president says the election was rigged, that's what he's talking about. The fix was in. [...] a software system that is used all around the country that is suspect because it came from Hugo Chávez's Venezuela". By October 2022, Johnson said that he had never supported claims that there was massive fraud in the 2020 election.
In December 2020, Johnson led an effort in which 126 Republican U.S. representatives signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.
During the January 2021 United States Electoral College vote count, Johnson was one of 120 U.S. representatives who objected to certifying the 2020 presidential election results from both Arizona and Pennsylvania, while another 19 U.S. representatives objected for one of these states. The New York Times called Johnson "the most important architect of the Electoral College objections" because he had argued to reject the results based on the argument of "constitutional infirmity" and persuaded "about three-quarters" of the objectors to use that rationale. Johnson's argument was that certain state officials had violated the Constitution by relaxing restrictions on mail-in voting or early voting due to the COVID-19 pandemic without consulting state legislatures.
Abortion
Johnson supports a national abortion ban and opposed Roe v. Wade. In Congress, Johnson has supported bills outlawing abortion both at fertilization and at 15 weeks' gestation. In 2015 and 2016, he led an anti-abortion "Life March" in Shreveport-Bossier City.
In a 2017 House Judiciary Committee meeting, Johnson argued that Roe v. Wade made it necessary to cut social programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid because abortion reduced the labor force and thus damaged the economy.
Johnson has co-sponsored bills attempting to ban abortion nationwide, such as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, the Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children From Late-Term Abortions Act, and the Heartbeat Protection Act of 2021. All three bills would impose criminal penalties, including potential prison terms of up to five years, upon doctors who perform abortions.
In 2015, Johnson blamed abortions and the "breakup [of] the nuclear family" for school shootings, saying, "when you tell a generation of people that life has no value, no meaning, that it's expendable, then you do wind up with school shooters."
Climate change
During a town hall in 2017, Johnson said that he believed that Earth's climate was changing, but questioned the scientific consensus that climate change is caused by humans.
Under Johnson, the Republican Study Committee in 2019 called Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal the "Greedy New Steal", called "wind and solar" "the most inefficient energy sources we have", and claimed that living near wind turbines could cause "depression and cognitive dysfunction".
Johnson has a lifetime score of 2% on the League of Conservation Voters' National Environmental Scorecard, making him one of the 47 lowest-ranked Republicans in LCV's rating system. During his seven-year congressional career, he has received $338,125 in donations from the oil and gas industry.
Covenant marriage
Johnson came to some prominence in the late 1990s when he and his wife appeared on television to promote new laws in Louisiana allowing covenant marriages, under which divorce is much more difficult to obtain than in no-fault divorce. In 2005, Johnson appeared on ABC's Good Morning America to promote covenant marriages, saying, "I'm a big proponent of marriage and fidelity and all the things that go with it".
Donald Trump
In 2019, during the Special Counsel Mueller investigation, Johnson defended Trump by saying that Trump had "cooperated fully" with the investigation and "done nothing wrong".
In 2019, during the first impeachment of Donald Trump, Johnson defended Trump and told White House officials to ignore Congressional subpoenas as "legitimate executive privilege in legal immunity". Johnson served as a member of Trump's legal defense team during both the 2019 and 2021 Senate impeachment trials, each of which resulted in acquittals.
Evolution
In 2016, Johnson delivered a sermon that called the teaching of evolution one of the causes of mass shootings: "People say, 'How can a young person go into their schoolhouse and open fire on their classmates?' Because we've taught a whole generation—a couple generations now—of Americans, that there's no right or wrong, that it's about survival of the fittest, and you evolve from the primordial slime. Why is that life of any sacred value? Because there's nobody sacred to whom it's owed."
Foreign policy
Johnson has supported ending American military aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia, but after his election as speaker of the House, he said he was "open to talks" regarding Biden's request for additional funds to help the Ukrainian "counter-offensive against Russia".
Israel-Palestine
Johnson visited Israel in February 2020 with 12Tribe Films Foundation, calling the trip "the fulfillment of a biblical prophecy".
As one of the first bills after becoming speaker, Johnson voted with an overwhelming bipartisan majority to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
Immigration
Johnson supported Trump's 2017 executive order to prohibit immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries, saying: "This is not an effort to ban any religion, but rather an effort to adequately protect our homeland. We live in a dangerous world, and this important measure will help us balance freedom and security."
In 2023, Johnson voted for an amendment that would eliminate funding for immigration and refugee assistance.
LGBT rights
Johnson has been a long-term, outspoken opponent of LGBT rights. A longtime supporter of criminalizing homosexuality, Johnson has called homosexuality "sinful" and "destructive" and argued that abolishing "discrimination" between "heterosexual and homosexual conduct" would translate into support for pedophilia.
In 2003 and 2004, Johnson wrote multiple opinion articles for Shreveport newspaper The Times on homosexuality. In one article, he wrote:Proscriptions against sodomy have deep roots in religion, politics and law. States have always maintained the right to discourage the evils of sexual conduct outside marriage, and the state is right to discriminate between heterosexual and homosexual conduct since the latter cannot occur within the confines of marriage. Homosexuals do not meet the criteria for a suspect class under the equal protection clause because they are neither disadvantaged nor identified on the basis of immutable characteristics, as all are capable of changing their abnormal lifestyles.In another article, Johnson called homosexuality "inherently unnatural" and a "dangerous lifestyle"; he argued that if same-sex marriage was allowed, "then we will have to do it for every deviant group. Polygamists, polyamorists, pedophiles, and others will be next in line to claim equal protection. They already are. There will be no legal basis to deny a bisexual the right to marry a partner of each sex, or a person to marry his pet". Johnson further concluded that allowing same-sex marriage would put the country's "entire democratic system in jeopardy". In another article, he wrote that unnamed experts "project that homosexual marriage is the dark harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy that could doom even the strongest republic".
In 2005, Johnson campaigned against GLSEN's annual anti-bullying Day of Silence, telling NBC News: "that's cloaking their real message—that homosexuality is good for society".
Johnson strongly opposed the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which ruled that most sanctions of criminal punishment for private sexual conduct between consenting adults are unconstitutional. These sanctions were mostly used to prosecute homosexual activity. As the case was litigated, Johnson wrote a prominent amicus brief in favor of criminalizing consensual same-sex intercourse, arguing that sex between men should be banned because it is more likely to spread sexually transmitted diseases and therefore poses "a distinct public health problem".
Johnson also staunchly opposed Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationally. In a televised interview shortly after he was elected speaker, Johnson said, "'I am a rule of law guy. I made a career defending the rule of law. I respect the rule of law. When the Supreme Court issued the Obergefell opinion, that became the law of the land, OK. I respect the rule of law and also genuinely love all people, regardless of their lifestyle choices'".
In 2019, when Johnson chaired the Republican Study Committee, the committee published a statement criticizing the removal of clinical psychologist and conversion therapy advocate Joseph Nicolosi's works from availability on Amazon. The committee asserted that Amazon was engaging in censorship by declining to make Nicolosi's works available for sale.
In 2022, Johnson introduced the Stop the Sexualization of Children Act, which would prohibit federally funded institutions, including public schools and libraries, from mentioning sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill has been compared to the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, commonly referred to as the "Don't Say Gay" law.
On October 25, 2023, the day Johnson was elected speaker of the House, Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson called him "the most anti-equality Speaker in U.S. history". Several conservative Republicans also expressed concerns over Johnson's hardline stance against LGBT rights. For example, Meghan McCain voiced her disappointment over Johnson's election as speaker of the House, referring to him as a "raging homophobe".
Medical marijuana
In 2016, Johnson opposed the expansion of medical marijuana in Louisiana. He argued that medical marijuana can actually worsen some conditions, specifically epilepsy, quoting the American Epilepsy Society's studies that it can cause "severe dystonic reactions and other movement disorders, developmental regression, intractable vomiting, and worsening seizures" in children with epilepsy.
Minimum wage
In 2019, Johnson opposed the Raise the Wage Act, which would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, as "job-crushing legislation". In 2021, Johnson again opposed the bill.
Prayer in public schools
In April 2018, Johnson joined Republican state Attorney General Jeff Landry and Christian evangelist Kirk Cameron to argue under the First Amendment for student-led prayer and religious expression in public schools. Johnson and Landry appeared, with Cameron who spoke on a promotional video, at prayer rallies at the First Baptist Church of Minden and Bossier Parish Community College in Bossier City. The gatherings were organized by area pastors, including Brad Jurkovich of First Baptist Bossier, in response to a lawsuit filed in February against the Bossier Parish School Board and the superintendent, Scott Smith. Smith and the board were accused of permitting teachers to incorporate various aspects of Christianity in their class presentations.
Separation of church and state
Johnson has referred to the "so-called separation of church and state". He has asserted that "the founders wanted to protect the church from an encroaching state, not the other way around."
He has cited David Barton as profoundly influential in his faith and thinking.
Social Security and Medicare
In 2018, Johnson said that entitlement reform is his "number one priority", adding that cuts to "Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and interest on the debt" have to "happen yesterday" because they are an existential threat to the American experiment.
Personal life
Johnson married Kelly Renee Lary on May 1, 1999. The Johnsons are in a covenant marriage. They have four children and reside in Benton, Louisiana.
In 2016, Johnson described himself as first and foremost a Christian. He is an evangelical who is Southern Baptist. Johnson has said: "My faith informs everything I do." He has said that early in his married life, he and his wife took in a 14-year-old African-American boy and consider him part of their family.
Since March 2022, Johnson and his wife have co-hosted a podcast, Truth Be Told, on which they discuss public affairs and other issues from a Christian perspective. On his podcast, Johnson said that "the word of God is, of course, the ultimate source of all truth", and attributed the United States' success as a leading nation to its being the only nation founded upon a "religious statement of faith".
See also
Electoral history of Mike Johnson
Notes
References
External links
Congressman Mike Johnson official U.S. House website
House Speaker website
Campaign website
"Truth be Told" Podcast website
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Mike Johnson
1972 births
21st-century American politicians
Alliance Defending Freedom people
American columnists
American anti-abortion activists
American anti-same-sex-marriage activists
Baptists from Louisiana
Captain Shreve High School alumni
Living people
Louisiana lawyers
Louisiana State University Law Center alumni
Republican Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives
People from Benton, Louisiana
Politicians from Shreveport, Louisiana
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana
Southern Baptists
Speakers of the United States House of Representatives
Liberty University faculty