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Mike Johnson was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives last October with the unanimous support of House Republicans. It was no small feat for the little-known legislator from Louisiana, after weeks of infighting that started with Kevin McCarthy’s ousting and exposed deep fissures in the party. As he seized the gavel, becoming second in the line of presidential succession, Johnson told lawmakers he had been called to public service.
“I don’t believe there are any coincidences in a matter like this. I believe that Scripture, the Bible, is very clear, that God is the one that raises up those in authority,” said Johnson, a Southern Baptist. “I believe that God has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific moment.”
But less than six months later, his leadership is on shaky ground. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the flame-throwing Republican congresswoman, has threatened to use the same manoeuvre that led to McCarthy’s departure to force a vote to remove Johnson. While she has yet to pull the trigger, she sent a five-page letter to colleagues this week outlining her grievances, namely any bill that would provide more US aid to Ukraine.
For two months, Johnson has refused to take up a Senate-approved supplemental aid package that includes $60bn to Kyiv, as he struggles to balance the interests of isolationists with more traditional Republicans. In a Fox News interview on Easter Sunday, he vowed to introduce a new Ukraine package “right after” Congress returned from the break. But a draft bill has not been circulated, and this week Johnson declined a meeting with UK foreign minister David Cameron, who flew in to pressure him on the issue.
Ukraine is only one of Johnson’s problems. Nearly 20 Republican lawmakers this week blocked the reauthorisation of a surveillance law that national security officials say is critical, yet former president Donald Trump has opposed. The bill eventually passed the House on Friday.
Being Speaker is a notoriously difficult job. Former Speaker John Boehner once likened it to keeping “218 frogs in a wheelbarrow”. Yet Johnson’s task is harder than most, given the exceedingly narrow margin by which his party controls the chamber. This will shrink even more later this month, when Wisconsin Republican Mike Gallagher steps down, leaving Johnson only able to afford a single defection on any vote so long as Democrats stick together.
Greene is far from his only Republican critic. Ohio Republican Max Miller last year called the Speaker — the least experienced lawmaker in the top job in more than 140 years — a “joke.” Warren Davidson, another Republican congressman from Ohio, said his support for Johnson as Speaker was “one of the worst votes I have cast so far.”
But allies insist the 52-year-old mild-mannered Louisianan remains up to the job. “He is doing an exceptional job of listening to every voice in the conference,” says Blake Moore, a Republican congressman from Utah. “He is doing it respectfully, and he is not bad-mouthing people in any way, shape or form. He is still trying to build consensus.”
“It is a very tough job,” says Tom Arcenaux, the mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, who has known Johnson for more than two decades. “It certainly requires every ounce of tact and diplomacy and strategy that he can bring to bear, but I think he is up to the task.”
Johnson was born in Shreveport, a small city in the north-west corner of the state, in 1972 to a 17-year-old mother. The eldest of four children, his life changed at 12, when his firefighter father survived an explosion but was left disabled, having received burns on over 80 per cent of his body.
The first in his family to go to college, he earned a law degree from Louisiana State University. He and his wife Kelly became prominent advocates for “covenant marriage,” a Louisiana law that makes divorce more difficult. They have four children, and were also legal guardians to another.
A staunch social conservative who is opposed to same-sex marriage and abortion rights, Johnson was a litigator representing rightwing causes before being elected to Congress in 2016. There he rose through the ranks, becoming chair of the conservative Republican Study Committee and vice-chair of the House Republican Conference.
Johnson swiftly established himself as a fierce defender of Trump. He led a group of more than 100 fellow Republicans in filing an amicus brief to the US Supreme Court in support of a lawsuit that tried to overturn the 2020 results in four states, and voted against certifying the election results on January 6 2021.
That fealty earned him Trump’s respect. He invited Johnson to fly with him on Air Force One and later endorsed his bid for Speaker. Now, the men reportedly speak several times a week. On Friday, they were scheduled to meet in Mar-a-Lago to issue a joint statement on “election integrity.”
Still, the two remain at odds on many issues, notably the surveillance bill and Ukraine aid. And while some allies say Johnson is prepared to be Speaker in a second Trump administration, others say the gruelling job is taking its toll.
“With a one or two person majority, [the job] is almost impossible but if anyone can do it, [Johnson] can,” says Ross Barrett, a friend of his since secondary school. “I can see a burden on him. But I think he is uniquely qualified to do it, and if that is his obligation, he is more than happy to.”
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