Meet Rep. Mike Johnson, the latest GOP speaker nominee who introduced the national version of Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' law and played a key role in Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election
- Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana is the 4th GOP nominee for speaker in 3 weeks.
- He's a staunch social conservative who introduced a bill similar to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law.
Following three failed speakership bids in three weeks, House Republicans have now chosen Rep. Mike Johnson of Lousiana to be their latest nominee for speaker of the House.
The fourth time may be the charm.
Johnson, who's served in Congress since 2016 and is 51 years old, is a staunch social conservative who currently serves in party leadership as the vice chair of the House GOP conference.
He may be the best man for the job simply because he has no major enemies — he has good relationships with members of the hard right flank of the conference, and he's collegial and low-profile enough for more vulnerable lawmakers to accept.
The Louisiana Rpeublican became the party's nominee after House Majority Whip Tom Emmer's candidacy was derailed by former President Donald Trump, who called Emmer a "RINO" as dozens of hardliners made clear they were not ready to support his candidacy. Emmer was ultimately the party's nominee for just over four hours before he withdrew on Tuesday.
Last week, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio was the party's nominee, losing support with each successive floor vote until he was voted down by the conference on Friday. Before that, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise was briefly the nominee.
The House is set to vote on Johnson's candidacy mid-day on Wednesday. Here's what you need to know about him.
Last year, he introduced a bill similar to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law
Last October, Johnson led over two dozen of his colleagues in introducing the "Stop the Sexualization of Children Act of 2022."
The bill is essentially the national version of Florida's Parental Rights in Education Law — dubbed "Don't Say Gay" by critics.
The bill prohibits federal funds from being used to promote "any sexually-oriented program, event, or literature for children under the age of 10" and bans federal funding from being used for drag shows or "Drag Queen Story Hour."
But the bill's definition of "sexually-oriented material" includes "any topic involving gender identity, gender dysphoria, transgenderism, sexual orientation, or related subjects."
That's led the Human Rights Campaign to condemn the bill as the "latest cruel attempt to stigmatize and marginalize the community."
He played a bigger role than most House Republicans in Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election
Like most of his GOP colleagues, Johnson voted against certifying the electoral college results from Arizona and Pennsylvania, even after a mob ransacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
But Johnson was also the lead organizer of an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of Texas's lawsuit asking the court to halt the certification of the vote 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, he tweeted that Republicans "MUST fight for election integrity, the Constitution, and the preservation of our republic!"
On Tuesday, ABC reporter Rachel Scott tried to ask Johnson whether he stood by those efforts, leading the Republicans gathered around him to drown out her question with laughter and booing.
Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina even told Scott to "shut up."
He's among the Republicans opposed to sending US aid to Ukraine
Johnson has continually voted against sending US aid to Ukraine and was among the original 57 Republicans who first did so in May 2022.
"We should not be sending another $40 billion abroad when our own border is in chaos, American mothers are struggling to find baby formula, gas prices are at record highs, and American families are struggling to make ends meet, without sufficient oversight over where the money will go," he said at the time.
That means his ascent to the speakership could imperil the future of US aid to the war-torn country, which continues to rely on American assistance in its war against Russia.
McCarthy, while careful to state that he opposes a "blank check" for Ukraine, was generally supportive of sending aid. The Louisiana Republican would be the first congressional leader to be opposed to Ukraine aid.
He's made more than $100,000 moonlighting as a professor at Liberty University, an evangelical college
There's little publicly-available information about Johnson's activities at Liberty University, and Insider has reached out to the university for further details.
But according to his financial disclosures, he's made a decent chunk of change on the side teaching online courses, including more than $26,000 in 2019 and 2020 and more than $29,000 in 2021 and 2022, for a total of $111,885.
According to a biography on the website Answers in Genesis, Johnson has taught "Constitution and free enterprise" at the university's Helms School of Government.
Liberty University is a private evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia founded by televangelist Jerry Falwell Sr.
His son, Jerry Falwell Jr., previously ran the university until he resigned amid a sex scandal in 2020. Falwell had been a prominent Trump backer within the evangelical community.
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