Mike Johnson (Louisiana politician)

Mike Johnson
Official portrait, 2022
56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office October 25, 2023
Preceded by	Kevin McCarthy
Leader of the House Republican Conference
Incumbent
Assumed office October 25, 2023
Preceded by	Kevin McCarthy
Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference
In office January 3, 2021 – October 25, 2023
Leader	Kevin McCarthy
Preceded by	Mark Walker
Succeeded by	Vacant
Chair of the Republican Study Committee
In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2021
Preceded by	Mark Walker
Succeeded by	Jim Banks
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2017
Preceded by	John Fleming
Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the 8th district
In office February 22, 2015 – January 3, 2017
Preceded by	Jeff R. Thompson
Succeeded by	Raymond Crews
Personal details
Born	James Michael Johnson (1972-01-30) January 30, 1972 Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Kelly Lary ​ (m. 1999)​
Children	4
Education	Louisiana State University (BS, JD)
Website	House website Speaker website

James Michael Johnson (born January 30, 1972) is an American politician and former conservative talk show host who is the 56th and current speaker of the United States House of Representatives since October 25, 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Johnson has represented Louisiana's 4th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2017.

Johnson is a graduate of Louisiana State University and its Paul M. Hebert Law Center. Before entering politics, he worked as an attorney in private practice. During his time with the Alliance Defending Freedom, he wrote a prominent amicus brief supporting state sodomy laws that criminalized consensual same-sex relationships before the Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas (2003). He also founded Freedom Guard, a nonprofit legal ministry designed to represent Christian clients in lawsuits. Johnson was elected as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives in 2015 and served until 2017.

He was first elected to represent Louisiana's 4th congressional district in 2016. During his time in Congress, Johnson contested the results of the 2020 presidential election on the House floor and in court; supported bills that would institute a nationwide ban on abortion; and pushed for an overturn of Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which found laws banning same-sex marriage unconstitutional. 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 speaker to have been elected from Louisiana and the shortest-tenured 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 James Patrick Johnson. 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. His father was a firefighter who founded the nonprofit organization the Percy R. Johnson Burn Foundation, named after his partner, the city's first African-American fire instructor and captain, who died in the line of duty. Johnson's father was also critically burned and disabled in the line of duty during the same fire.

Johnson attended Captain Shreve High School in Shreveport. In 1995, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration from Louisiana State University, where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity (Gamma chapter). In 1998, he graduated from Louisiana State's Paul M. Hebert Law Center with a Juris Doctor.

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 a prominent amicus brief opposing the eventual Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v. Texas (2003), which overturned state laws that criminalized consensual same-sex relationships. 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 2015, Johnson founded Freedom Guard, a nonprofit legal ministry designed to represent Christian clients in lawsuits. He was its chief counsel. In that role, he defended government-provided tax breaks for Answers in Genesis (AIG)'s Ark Encounter theme park in Kentucky. Johnson has also written for AiG and represented them in other lawsuits. During his time in Freedom Guard, he also "defended the sports chaplaincy program at Louisiana State University from attacks that it was unconstitutional". Ken Ham has praised Johnson for his work, calling him one of the only "godly men" in Washington, D.C.

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 the Helms School of Government.

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 unopposed.

Louisiana Marriage and Conscience Act

In April 2015, Johnson proposed the Marriage and Conscience Act, a bill similar in content to Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act passed a few days earlier, though he denied that his legislation was based on the Indiana law.

Johnson's Marriage and Conscience Act would have prevented adverse treatment by the State of any person or entity on the basis of the views they hold 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. IBM and other employers in the region expressed opposition to the bill, including concerns about the 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.

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. After the bill was tabled, Jindal said that he would issue an executive order to enforce its intent.

Other

Johnson opposed the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2016

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.

2018

In 2018, Johnson won a second House term, defeating Democratic nominee Ryan Trundle, 139,307 votes (64%) to 72,923 (34%).

2020

In 2020, Johnson won a third House term with 185,265 (60%) to Democratic nominee Kenny Houston's 78,157 votes (25%).

2022

In 2022, Johnson won reelection unopposed.

Tenure

Early terms

Johnson was sworn into office on January 3, 2017. He was chosen Vice Chairman of the Republican Conference, an Assistant Whip for House Republicans, a member of the Judiciary Committee, the Armed Services Committee, and a member and former Chairman of the Republican Study Committee.

Johnson voted for the American Health Care Act of 2017.

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 was among 147 Republicans that voted to overturn the 2020 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

• 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

Johnson delivers remarks following his election as Speaker of the House.

Following Speaker Kevin McCarthy's unprecedented ouster from the position of speaker of the House, Rep. Matt Gaetz proposed Johnson as a candidate for speaker. On October 13, 2023, Johnson stated that he would not run for Speaker and instead endorsed colleague Jim Jordan; however, on the same day, NBC News reported that Johnson was considering running for Speaker if Jordan dropped out.

On October 21, 2023, after Republicans Steve Scalise and Jordan had made unsuccessful bids for speaker of the House, 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 of voting. Shortly thereafter, Emmer withdrew his candidacy for the speakership. Later on October 24, House Republicans voted to make Johnson their fourth nominee in the October 2023 speaker election. Johnson's bid for the speakership was endorsed by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

On October 25, 2023, the House of Representatives voted, 220-209, to elect Johnson as the 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Every Republican member of the House of Representatives who was in attendance voted for Johnson. Johnson was also sworn in as speaker on October 25, 2023. He is the first speaker in the history of the United States who comes from Louisiana. When he took office as Speaker, Johnson had served in Congress for six years and ten months — the shortest House membership tenure of any Speaker in 140 years; John G. Carlisle, elected speaker in 1883, had a shorter House tenure at the time of his election to the speakership.

Political positions

Johnson receiving the True Blue award from Family Research Council President Tony Perkins in 2023.

Johnson is a member of the Christian right faction of the Republican Party. He is widely considered to be the most right-wing Speaker of the House in the modern era.

Politico writes: "What’s clear, however, is that Johnson is a social conservative’s social conservative — the most culturally conservative lawmaker to ascend to the speakership in decades, if not longer." According to Bloomberg News, "Johnson’s [inaugural] speech [as Speaker of the House of Representatives] that made clear his religious beliefs will guide his speakership" and that "He holds ultraconservative positions on abortion, for which he advocates a national ban with limited exceptions, and same-sex marriages, which he has vigorously opposed." According to ABC News, "he spent years building his career and profile by denouncing gay people and fighting against gay rights, which he staunchly opposes, citing his Christian faith and views on liberty". He has close ties to Focus on the Family, Answers in Genesis, and the Family Research Council.

Florida representative Matt Gaetz has described him as a “good godly man who’s going to advance Republicans.”

Abortion

Main article: Abortion in the United States

Johnson supports a national abortion ban and opposes Roe v. Wade. While in Congress, Johnson has supported bills outlawing abortion both at fertilization and 15-weeks.

In 2015 and 2016, Johnson led an anti-abortion "Life March" in Shreveport-Bossier City.

In 2017, in a House Judiciary Committee meeting, Johnson argued that Roe v. Wade had made it necessary to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid:

Roe v. Wade gave constitutional cover to the elective killing of unborn children in America. [....] You think about the implications of that on the economy; we’re all struggling here to cover the bases of Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid and all the rest. If we had all those able-bodied workers in the economy, we wouldn’t be going upside down and toppling over like this.

Johnson has co-sponsored the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act of 2017, which would ban abortion after 20 weeks; the Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children From Late-Term Abortions Act, which would ban abortion after 15 weeks; and the Heartbeat Protection Act of 2021, which would ban abortion after 6 weeks. All three bills would sentence physicians who perform abortions to five years in prison.

Climate change

Main articles: Climate change policy of the United States and Climate change denial

During a town hall in 2017, Johnson acknowledged the climate was changing but questioned the scientific consensus on climate change that it is caused by humans.

Under Johnson, the Republican Study Committee in 2019 referred to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal as the "Greedy New Steal", described "wind and solar" as "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% (out of 100%) on the League of Conservation Voters' National Environmental Scorecard, which makes him one of the 47 lowest Republicans in Congress. During his seven-year congressional career, Johnson 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, stating "I'm a big proponent of marriage and fidelity and all the things that go with it".

Donald Trump

Johnson with President Donald Trump in 2019.

In 2019, Johnson said, "President Trump cooperated fully with the [Special Counsel Mueller] investigation." The Mueller Report found, “The president launched public attacks on the investigation and individuals involved in it who could possess evidence adverse to the president, while in private, the president engaged in a series of targeted efforts to control the investigation.” This included attempting to have Mueller fired, and pressuring then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to limit the investigation.

In 2019, during the first impeachment of Donald Trump, Johnson defended Trump telling 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, which resulted in acquittals.

Election fraud

Main article: Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election

Johnson played what has been described as "a leading role" in trying to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election in favor of Donald Trump, by recruiting fellow House Republicans to sign a legal brief in support of a lawsuit to reject the results in four key states won by Joe Biden. On November 17, 2020, Johnson stated:

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. [....] They know that in Georgia it really was rigged, it was set up for the Biden team.

Johnson also claimed that US voting systems (specifically Dominion Voting Systems) were "suspect" because they "came from Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela".

In December 2020, Johnson led an effort which got 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign 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, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump. 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.

Johnson was one of 147 members of Congress who voted in favor of overturning the results of the 2020 United States presidential election in the state of Pennsylvania during the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count.

Foreign policy

Main article: Foreign policy of the United States

Johnson supports ending American military aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Immigration

Main article: Immigration to the United States

Johnson supported President Donald 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 is an outspoken opponent of LGBT rights. He has compared same-sex sexual conduct to bestiality and pedophilia, and has also argued that its toleration would lead to the latter.

In 2003, he argued in favor of criminalizing consensual same-sex relationships through sodomy laws and was a self-described advocate of "discrimination" by the state against homosexual conduct, saying:

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.

During his time with the Alliance Defending Freedom, he wrote a prominent amicus brief supporting state sodomy laws that criminalized consensual same-sex relationships before the Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas (2003). 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 opposed Lawrence v. Texas, which ruled that most sanctions of criminal punishment for consensual, adult non-procreative sexual conduct are unconstitutional; as well as Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationally. Johnson opposes same-sex marriage. In 2022, Johnson introduced the Stop the Sexualization of Children Act, which would prohibit federally funded institutions, including public schools and libraries, from promoting or mentioning gender identity. The bill has been compared to the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act.

In 2019, when Johnson was chair of 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.

Medical marijuana

See also: Medical cannabis in the United States

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, as "job-crushing legislation". In 2021, Johnson again opposed the bill.

Prayer in public schools

Main article: School prayer § United States

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."

Social Security and Medicare

During his tenure as chair of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) between 2019 and 2021, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) helped craft budget resolutions that called for roughly $2 trillion in Medicare cuts, $3 trillion in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act cuts, and $750 billion in Social Security cuts, noted Bobby Kogan of the Center for American Progress. In 2018, Johnson said that entitlement reform is his "number one priority" and 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.

Taxation

Main article: Taxation in the United States

In 2016, as a state representative, Johnson voted against a one-cent increase in Louisiana's sales tax.

Ahead of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), Johnson stated that reducing corporate taxes "will unleash the free market again" and "could get [GDP growth] as high as 6 or 7 percent". In contrast, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB)'s analysis of the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation's analysis found that the TCJA might increase GDP growth rate by 0.02% per year (ie, from about 2.00% to 2.02%).

Personal life

Johnson with his wife, Kelly

Johnson married his wife, Kelly in 1999. The Johnsons are in a covenant marriage. Johnson has stated that early in his married life, he and his wife took in a 14-year-old African-American boy and consider him a part of their family.

Johnson is an evangelical Christian who is Southern Baptist.

See also

• Electoral history of Mike Johnson

External links

• Congressman Mike Johnson official U.S. House website
• Campaign website
• Mike Johnson at Curlie
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Appearances on C-SPAN