New Speaker Mike Johnson is one of the less prominent members of Congress, but he has won a victory and now holds the most powerful position in the US House of Representatives.
The Louisiana Republican is a father of four, entered Congress in 2017 and is serving his fourth term.
Johnson, 51, is considered an intellectual and family man, and his success rescued the House of Representatives from a prolonged state of chaos.
On Tuesday, he became his party’s fourth nominee for House speaker in just three weeks, following the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.
As Johnson takes the gavel, the question arises: Who is the quiet, bespectacled politician that Republicans finally settled on?
Representative Mike Johnson is the new Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Louisiana Republican is pictured here with his wife, Kelly, and their four children, from left: Hannah, Abigail, Will and Jack
Rep. Johnson is a native of Shreveport, Louisiana, representing the area where he was born, raised and educated. Johnson was the oldest of four children and the son of a firefighter
CHILDHOOD AND EDUCATION IN LOUISIANA
Rep. Johnson was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and still lives in this area of Bossier Parish. He represents Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District, which includes Shreveport.
The oldest of four children, Johnson had two brothers, Chris and Josh, and a sister, Laura.
His father, James Patrick Johnson, was a firefighter who suffered burns in the line of duty and became disabled. He later founded the nonprofit Percy R. Johnson Burn Foundation, named after his partner and the city’s first black fire chief, who died in the same fire.
Johnson graduated from Captain Shreve High School.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and later earned his Juris Doctor from the Louisiana State University Law Center.
Johnson’s congressional office described him to as a “huge LSU fan and double LSU alum.”
Mike Johnson married Kelly Lary in 1999. The couple has four children and lives in Bossier Parish with their two sons. Her daughters are in college
Devoted husband and father of four children
Rep. Johnson married Kelly Lary Johnson in 1999.
The couple, who have been married for 24 years, have four children together: Hannah (23), Abigail (21), Jack (18) and Will (12).
Kelly Johnson is a former school teacher who now lectures on family-related topics and is a licensed counselor. She attended Louisiana Tech University and graduated in 1995.
“Kelly is also known to many for her personal testimony of redemption through extraordinary trials, including her recovery from a broken neck in a car accident in 2007 and other serious health problems,” Onward Christian Counseling Services notes in her bio.
Founded by Kelly, the organization’s mission is to “provide confidential, Bible-based individual, marriage and family counseling to the people of Northwest Louisiana.”
The bio says Kelly was a “leader of the pro-family movement.”
Representative Johnson and his wife have received numerous family and faith awards, including the Champions of the Faith award from the Southern Baptist Convention.
Kelly appeared on national television with her husband in 1999 to promote Louisiana’s newly passed marriage laws, which made it more difficult to obtain a divorce in the state.
This moment helped Johnson rise to prominence.
Kelly (pictured with former first lady Melania Trump) is a former teacher who founded Onward Christian Counseling Services to “provide confidential, Bible-based individual, marriage and family counseling to the people of northwest Louisiana.”
According to Mike and Kelly’s respective Facebook pages, their older son, Jack, rides bulls, plays and teaches guitar, and was elected “governor” of his class at Louisiana Boys State.
Her youngest, Will, plays baseball and enjoys drawing.
Both of Johnson’s daughters are following in their father’s footsteps.
Her oldest daughter, Hannah, is a second-year law student at Louisiana State University Law School, and Kelly Johnson said her daughter, Abigail, is “on her way to law school” and is in her senior year at Louisiana Tech this year.
Many pictures on the Internet show that the family enjoys going to the shooting range and hunting together.
LAWYER AND LAWYER
Johnson had a legal career before becoming a lawmaker — like many others in Congress.
He was a partner at the Kitchens law firm and a senior attorney and national media spokesman for the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian legal advocacy group.
Johnson also served as general counsel for the nonprofit law firm Freedom Guard.
In describing his legal career in September 2016, Johnson said he was focused on “defending religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and biblical values, including the defense of traditional marriage, and other ideals like these when they are under attack.” ‘
From 2004 to 2012, Johnson served as a trustee of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
Johnson then served a term from 2015 to 2017 as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for the 8th District.
Rep. Johnson was also a member of Trump’s impeachment defense team and helped convince his colleagues to sign a legal brief supporting a lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election
CAREER IN CONGRESS AND PUSH TO OVERTURN THE 2020 ELECTIONS
At the same time that Donald Trump was running for president, Johnson decided to run for Congress in 2016 to replace outgoing Republican Rep. John Fleming.
Fleming then served for two years in the Trump administration as deputy assistant secretary for health information technology reform. He also held two other positions in the Trump White House.
Johnson is also a vocal supporter of Trump. He won the former president’s support in his re-elections since 2016 and attended several rallies and Trump events.
He was one of the lawmakers who worked to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election results for Joe Biden. Johnson led an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit seeking to overturn the 2020 result.
The congressman was also a member of Trump’s impeachment defense team.
Johnson is already a leader in the House of Representatives as vice chairman of the Republican Conference. He also serves as Assistant Whip and is a member and former chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee.
He also sits on the Judiciary and Armed Services Committees, both of which are extremely important and influential bodies.
Rep. Johnson and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) have nearly identical voting records.
However, Jordan, who had previously been nominated for speaker by the Republicans, failed to unite the party behind him and secure enough votes to win the gavel.
Where the high-profile Jordan failed, Johnson ultimately succeeded.