Who is Mike Johnson? House Speaker is Louisiana Rep. with four children who is backed by Trump

Rep. Mike Johnson, the new chairman, is one of the less prominent lawmakers in Congress but has emerged victorious and now holds the most powerful position in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Republican from Louisiana is a father of four and joined Congress in 2017 and is serving his fourth term.

Johnson, 51, is considered an intellectual and a family man, and his success has saved the House from a prolonged state of chaos.

On Tuesday, he became his party’s fourth choice for Speaker of the House of Representatives in three weeks, following the historic impeachment of Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.

So, as Johnson takes the gavel, who is the quiet, bespectacled politician that Republicans finally agreed on?

CHILDHOOD AND EDUCATION IN LOUISIANA

Rep. Johnson was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and still lives in that area in Bossier Parish. He represents Louisiana’s 4th congressional district, which includes Shreveport.

The eldest of four children, Johnson had two brothers Chris and Josh, and a sister, Laura.

His father James Patrick Johnson was a firefighter who was burned and disabled while on duty. 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 received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and later his juris doctor degree from Louisiana State University Law Center.

Johnson’s congressional office described him to Dailymail.com as a “huge LSU fan as a dual LSU alum.”

DEVOTED HUSBAND AND FATHER TO FOUR

Representative Johnson married Kelly Lary Johnson in 1999.

The couple, now married for 24 years, have four children together: Hannah, 23, Abigail, 21, Jack, 18, and Will, 12.

Kelly Johnson is a former teacher who now lectures on family-related issues and is a certified pastoral counselor. She attended Louisiana Tech University and graduated in 1995.

“Kelly is also known by many for her personal testimony of deliverance through extraordinary trials, including her recovery from a broken neck in a 2007 car accident and other serious health issues,” Onward Christian Counseling Services notes in her biography.

The organization, which Kelly founded, aims to provide “confidential, Bible-based individual, marriage and family counseling to the people of Northwest Louisiana.”

The biography notes that Kelly is a “leader in the pro-family movement.”

Representative Johnson and his wife have received many family and faith-related awards, including the Southern Baptist Convention’s Champions of the Faith award.

Kelly appeared on national television with her husband in 1999 to promote Louisiana’s recently passed marital covenant laws, which made divorce more difficult in the state.

That moment helped Johnson gain a higher profile.

According to Mike and Kelly’s respective Facebook pages, their oldest son Jack rides bulls, plays and teaches guitar lessons, and was elected “governor” of his Louisiana Boys State class.

Their youngest Will plays baseball and enjoys drawing.

Both of Johnson’s daughters are following in their father’s footsteps.

Their oldest child Hannah is in her second year of law school at Louisiana State University Law School and Kelly Johnson said their daughter Abigail is “on her way to law school” and is in her senior year at Louisiana Tech this year.

Many images online show the family enjoying going to the range together to hunt.

LAWYER BECOME LAWMAKER

Johnson had a legal career before becoming a lawmaker — like many others in Congress.

He was a partner at Kitchens Law Firm and a senior attorney, as well as national media spokesperson, for the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian legal advocacy group.

Johnson also served as chief counsel for the nonprofit law firm Freedom Guard.

Describing his legal career in September 2016, Johnson said he focused on “defending religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and biblical values, including the defense of traditional marriage and other ideals such as these when they are attacked. ‘

From 2004 to 2012, Johnson served as a trustee of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

Johnson then served for one term in the Louisiana House of Representatives for the 8th District from 2015 to 2017.

CONGRESSIONAL CAREER AND PRESSURE TO DESTROY THE 2020 ELECTIONS

While Donald Trump was running for president, Johnson decided to run for Congress in 2016 to replace outgoing Republican Rep. John Fleming.

Fleming then served 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 fiercely pro-Trump. He earned the former president’s support in his re-election bids since 2016 and has attended multiple rallies and Trump events.

He was among the lawmakers who helped defend efforts 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 outcome.

The congressman was also a member of Trump’s impeachment defense team.

Johnson already holds leadership 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 is also a member of the Judiciary and Armed Forces committees, which are both very important and influential panels.

Rep. Johnson and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) have nearly identical voting results.

However, Jordan, who had previously been nominated for chairman by the Republicans, failed to unite the party behind him and get enough votes to win the gavel.

Where the high-profile Jordan failed, Johnson ultimately succeeded.