Recently appointed Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, entered Congress in 2016 following a two-year stint in the Louisiana legislature. Prior to his political career, he resided in North Texas.
Before entering his political career, 51-year-old Johnson worked in Plano as a constitutional lawyer, defending conservative legislation in court pertaining to marriage, prayer and abortion. According to WFAA, during 2011 and 2012, Johnson served as an attorney at the First Liberty Institute.
“We congratulate my friend and former First Liberty attorney on his election as Speaker of the House of Representatives,” a statement from Kelly Shackelford, president, CEO, and chief counsel at First Liberty Institute read. “Mike is a fantastic constitutional attorney and passionate advocate for religious liberty.”
According to Johnson’s congressional website, he currently holds positions on both the Judiciary Committee and the Armed Services Committee. He also previously chaired the Republican Study Committee.
After completing his business administration degree at Louisiana State University and obtaining a Juris Doctorate from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Johnson ventured into academia as a college professor and embarked on a career as a conservative talk radio host. His political journey commenced in the Louisiana legislature, where he served from 2015 to 2017, eventually leading to his election to Congress in Louisiana's Fourth District.
“Our House Republican Conference is united and eager to work,” Johnson said in a statement. “As Speaker, I will ensure the House delivers results and inspires change for the American people. We will restore trust in this body. We will advance a comprehensive conservative policy agenda, combat the harmful policies of the Biden Administration and support our allies abroad. And we will restore sanity to a government desperately in need of it.”
Before Johnson’s recent election, he faced controversy when a New York Times article called Johnson “the most important architect of the Electoral College objections” on Jan. 6, 2021, after voicing support for former President Donald Trump and devising an argument to keep the president in office.
