by Logan Bjerklie

On October 25th, Congressman Mike Johnson (R-La) was elected to be the 56th Speaker of the House. Johnson was elected after there was a 22 day deadlock to replace former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif). McCarthy has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2016 and represents the fourth congressional district in Louisiana. Before his terms in the house, Johnson earned his Bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University and spent close to 20 years practicing law.

This wasn’t the direct path that Johnson wanted to take in the House though, stating, “I had never contacted one person about this, and I never before aspired to the office.” He was one of the eight Republicans that applied for this position, but in his own words, his “unique mix of skills and experience” makes him “the arguably most qualified candidate,” for the Speaker of the house. According to Mike Johnson’s letter to colleagues, Johnson plans to base his leadership on building trust, promoting individual members, advancing a comprehensive policy agenda, engaging members, creating an effective message, building external coalitions, and developing the majority. 

While Johnson’s role “demands a leader who will humble himself each day,” he will aim to use his prior experience in this new role. According to an article from NBC news, “[Johnson] is a constitutional lawyer who has used his talents to craft some creative – and controversial – theories.” With little to no experience as a speaker, he is widely known as a. “Christian Conservative”, who has a long history of opposition to gay rights and abortion. “You talk about a patriot, I don’t know that you could find a more patriotic man than Mike Johnson,” John Fream, the pastor at Cypress Baptist in Louisiana, says in an interview. 

Most notably, Johnson has been a Trump ally and defender during the impeachment hearings. Trump endorsed the candidacy of Mike Johnson in a social media post via Truth, a platform typically known for its right wing audience, quoting, “My strong SUGGESTION is to go with the leading candidate, Mike Johnson, & GET IT DONE, FAST!” The decision regarding Mike Johnson’s new role as speaker of the house prompts a political shift in the house, which has already faced a large amount of internal division from the right and criticism from the left.

Mike Johnson becoming the first speaker from Louisiana and his relative amount of inexperience will certainly be put to the test. His peers’ thoughts about his lack of experience as a speaker might serve as a challenge for him to overcome, as he looks to establish his new position in a time of division while maintaining his individuality. The election of Mike Johnson indicates a change in power in the House of Representatives, and people who share his beliefs and views now have a champion in one of the one of the most visible positions of power in American government.