Congressman Mike Johnson of Louisiana attends a hearing at the U.S. Capitol in July 2022. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Congressman Mike Johnson of Louisiana He was elected Wednesday as the next speaker of the House.
He is a hardcore social conservative who has introduced a bill similar to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.
He is also an active professor at Liberty University, where he spearheaded efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday elected Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana to be the next speaker of the House, after three failed Republican speakership bids in the three weeks since Kevin McCarthy’s ouster.
It won with unanimous support from House Republicans.
Johnson, a relatively unknown 51-year-old congressman first elected in 2016, is a devout social conservative and evangelical Christian who had already served in party leadership as vice chair of the House Republican Conference.
He may have been the perfect person for the job simply because he doesn’t have any major enemies. He has good relationships with far-right members of the council, and is gregarious and low-key enough to be accepted by more vulnerable members.
The Louisiana Republican became the party’s nominee after House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s candidacy was derailed by former President Donald Trump. Former President Trump called Emmer a “RINO” after dozens of hardliners made it clear they were not ready to support her candidacy. Emmer was the party’s nominee for just over four hours before ultimately withdrawing on Tuesday.
Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio was the party’s nominee last week, but he lost support with each floor vote until he was rejected at Friday’s meeting. Before that, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise was briefly a candidate.
As chairman, Mr. Johnson will be the second-in-command in the president’s office after Vice President Kamala Harris. Here’s what you need to know about him.
Last year, he introduced a bill similar to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Johnson and other Republicans claimed the Republican nomination Tuesday night. Tom Brenner of The Washington Post, via Getty Images
Last October, Johnson led more than 20 colleagues to introduce “Preventing the Sexual Objectification of Children Act of 2022.”
The bill is essentially a national version of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, which critics have dubbed “Don’t Tell Me You’re Gay.”
The bill would prohibit federal funds from being used to promote “sexually oriented programs, events, or literature directed at children under the age of 10,” and would prohibit federal funds from being used for drag shows or “drag queen story hours.” It is prohibited to use it.
but bill definition “Sexually oriented content” includes “any topic related to gender identity, gender dysphoria, transgender, sexual orientation, or related themes.”
That led to the human rights campaign. condemn the bill as “the latest cruel attempt to stigmatize and marginalize the community.”
He played a bigger role than most House Republicans in President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election
Mr Johnson speaks in the House of Commons on January 6, 2021. congress.gov (via Getty Images)
Johnson, like most of his Republican colleagues, voted against certifying the electoral results in Arizona and Pennsylvania even after a mob ransacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
But Johnson also Court summary The company filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court in support of a Texas lawsuit asking the court to block the certification of votes in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
The day after President Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 election, Johnson said he called Trump and encouraged him to “keep fighting.”
On the morning of January 6, Republicans tweeted, “We must fight for election integrity, the Constitution, and the preservation of our Republic!”
On Tuesday, as ABC reporter Rachel Scott attempted to ask Johnson whether he supported such efforts, her question was drowned out by laughter and boos from Republicans gathered around him.
North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx even told Scott to “shut up.”
He is one of the Republicans who opposes US aid to Ukraine
Prime Minister Johnson with MPs Jim Jordan and Marjorie Taylor Greene at Parliament House on May 11, 2023. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Prime Minister Johnson has consistently voted against sending U.S. aid to Ukraine and was one of the original proponents. 57 Republican Who was the first to do so in May 2022?
“At a time when our nation’s borders are in turmoil, American mothers are struggling to find baby formula, gas prices are at record highs, and American families are struggling to make ends meet, there are not enough places to send money. “We shouldn’t send another $40 billion overseas without monitoring the money,” he said. Said at that time.
That means his appointment as chairman could jeopardize the future of U.S. aid to the war-torn country, which remains dependent on U.S. aid in its war against Russia.
Mr. McCarthy was generally in favor of sending aid, although he was careful to say he opposed “blank checks” to Ukraine. The Louisiana Republican becomes the first congressional leader to oppose aid to Ukraine.
He earned more than $100,000 in moonlight as a professor at Liberty University, an evangelical university.
President Trump delivers the convocation speech at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, on January 18, 2016. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
There is little publicly available information about Johnson’s activities at Liberty University, and Insider has contacted the university for further details.
But his financial disclosures show he’s made quite a difference in his side hustle teaching online courses, including more than $26,000 in 2019 and 2020 and more than $29,000 in 2021 and 2022. , including a total of $111,885.
According to the biography on the website Genesis answersJohnson has taught “Constitution and Free Enterprise” at the university’s Helms School of Government.
Liberty University is a private evangelical Christian university located in Lynchburg, Virginia, founded by televangelist Jerry Falwell Sr.
His son, Jerry Falwell Jr., ran the university until he resigned in 2020 amid a sex scandal. Mr. Falwell was a prominent Trump supporter within the evangelical community.
He has a “contract marriage” which makes it difficult to divorce him
Prime Minister Johnson and his wife Kelly were sworn in by then-Speaker of the House of Commons Paul Ryan in January 2017. AP Photo/Zach Gibson
Johnson is one of the few Americans in a “covenant marriage,” a legal arrangement that makes it difficult for couples to divorce.
He married his wife Kelly in 1999, and they both chose to marry voluntarily.
Under Louisiana law, a couple sign the document In it, they agree to undergo couples counseling before divorcing. Additionally, couples can only divorce on limited grounds, such as infidelity, if one partner has committed a felony or has been imprisoned or subjected to physical or sexual abuse.
“My wife and I both come from traditional Christian families,” Johnson said. told ABC “My own parents are divorced, and as anyone who has been through it knows, it was a traumatic event for our entire family. I am a huge supporter of marriage and chastity and everything that comes with it. I have seen the devastation firsthand. [divorce] may cause. “
“If you ask your spouse or fiancée, “Let’s have a contract marriage,” and they say they don’t really want to do that, I think that’s a huge red flag,” Kelly Johnson told the show. .
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