In response to Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson becoming the MAGA House majority’s speaker-designate, DNC spokesperson Sarafina Chitika issued the following statement: 

“Many Americans are waking up this morning wondering — who is Mike Johnson? We’re here to help: MAGA Republicans’ new speaker-designate supports extreme nationwide abortion bans. He led the charge for Donald Trump denying President Biden’s legitimate election win and tried to overthrow the votes of 81 million Americans. He’s a leading proponent of slashing Social Security and Medicare. Mike Johnson is a carbon-copy of the MAGA extremism that is deeply unpopular with Americans across the country. House Republicans will have to answer for their support for their new MAGA speaker next November. Make no mistake: The American people will hold them accountable for this choice.”

Johnson was the behind-the-scenes “architect” of Trump’s Big Lie — helping spread election conspiracy theories and leading the effort to overturn the 2020 election results.

Huffington Post: “In a crucial test for the MAGA crowd, [Johnson] supported a legal strategy to throw out the 2020 election based on no evidence of widespread fraud. Johnson, a former lawyer, led an amicus brief signed by over 100 Republican members of Congress backing a flawed Texas lawsuit that asked the Supreme Court to overturn the 2020 election. He also played a key role in crafting the rationale that many of his GOP colleagues used in justifying their votes to throw out the 2020 election results ― even just hours after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.”

New York Times: “In formal statements justifying their votes, about three-quarters relied on the arguments of a low-profile Louisiana congressman, Representative Mike Johnson, the most important architect of the Electoral College objections. On the eve of the Jan. 6 votes, he presented colleagues with what he called a ‘third option.’ He faulted the way some states had changed voting procedures during the pandemic, saying it was unconstitutional, without supporting the outlandish claims of Mr. Trump’s most vocal supporters. His Republican critics called it a Trojan horse that allowed lawmakers to vote with the president while hiding behind a more defensible case.

“Even lawmakers who had been among the noisiest ‘stop the steal’ firebrands took refuge in Mr. Johnson’s narrow and lawyerly claims, though his nuanced argument was lost on the mob storming the Capitol, and over time it was the vision of the rioters — that a Democratic conspiracy had defrauded America — that prevailed in many Republican circles.”

Ali Vitali, MSNBC: “We know that Mike Johnson was one of those pushing to overturn the 2020 election results. One person described him to me as, ‘Jim Jordan with a jacket and a smile’”

The New Yorker: “A strong ally of the President, Johnson e-mailed his Republican colleagues, asking them to join the amicus brief and telling them that President Trump was ‘anxiously awaiting the final list.’”

Johnson: “I posted on my social media that we were going to file a brief on

behalf of members of Congress about election security. I didn’t go into Article II. I am not sure about the sequence of events, but someone showed the President my post, I guess, and he called me and said he was so glad we were doing

this, affirming the importance of the case. So we talked about it briefly, and he said, ‘Do you think a lot of Republicans in the House will join on?’ And I said, ‘I think a large number will, Mr. President.’”

@RepMikeJohnson: “I have just called President Trump to say this: ‘‘‘Stay strong and keep fighting, sir! The nation is depending upon your resolve. We must exhaust every available legal remedy to restore Americans’ trust in the fairness of our election system.’”’”

Shreveport Times: “Politicians like Louisiana’s Steve Scalise, John Kennedy, and Mike Johnson helped him push this false narrative, even after over 60

courts said that there was no widespread fraud or irregularities In the November 3rd election. They became co-conspirators with the former President and thus they became complicit in the ‘big lie,’ which led to the assault on the

Capital and on the American Democracy. In fact, Congressman Mike Johnson became one of the main instigators in this farce that ultimately led to what happened at the people’s house on the fateful day.”

Johnson is an anti-abortion extremist who’s repeatedly supported and co-sponsored national abortion ban legislation, celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and has spent his political career trying to rip away women’s reproductive freedom and throw doctors in jail for providing care. 

@RepMikeJohnson: “And now… FINALLY… because Roe v. Wade was overturned last summer and Louisiana is now a proudly pro-life state— we will get the number of abortions to ZERO!! EVERYONE deserves a birthday. Thanks be to God.”

Johnson: “Roe v. Wade gave constitutional cover to the elective killing of unborn children in America. Period. You think about the implications of that on the economy. We’re all struggling here to cover the bases of Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid and all the rest. If we had all those able-bodied workers in the economy, we wouldn’t be going upside down and toppling over like this.”

“Roe was a terrible corruption of America’s constitutional jurisprudence.” 

List of Co-Sponsors, H.R.8814 – Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act: “Rep. Johnson, Mike [R-LA-4]”

Office of Rep. Mike Johnson press release on the overturning of Roe v. Wade: “Today is an historic and joyful day. After nearly a half century, the Supreme Court has finally corrected its egregious error and returned the fateful policy

decision over legalized abortion to the people and their elected representatives—where it has always belonged.”

Johnson has pushed radical proposals to slash Social Security and Medicare — as a member and former chair of the Republican Study Committee, he led efforts to cut funding for the critical programs Americans rely on. 

Semafor: “These days, the RSC is best known around Washington as a GOP policy shop responsible for crafting proposals to balance the federal budget, often through changes and cuts to Social Security and Medicare.” 

“The Conservative Playbook” By RSC, led by Chairman Mike Johnson in the 116th Congress: “With our entitlement programs facing dire financial futures and more Americans receiving welfare benefits than ever before, we cannot afford to waste money simply because the federal bureaucracy writes checks to the wrong people or for the wrong amount.” 

Johnson: “We have to get back to [entitlement reform] as the number one priority.”

Johnson could be the most MAGA speaker the House has ever seen — he’s a part of Trump’s “inner circle” and has proven time and time again that he has no problem using his power in office to do Trump’s bidding.  

Houma Today: “Louisiana Republican Congressman Mike Johnson was a trusted member of Donald Trump’s inner circle, traveling regularly with the president on Air Force One to football games, rallies and GOP presidential primaries in 2020 and eventually voting against certifying the 2020 election that President Joe Biden won.”

Congressional Integrity Project: “Throughout his time in the House, Johnson has consistently supported Trump, voting in-line with the former president 93 percent of the time.”

Meredith McGraw, Politico: “Trump this morning declares he’s not going to make an endorsement because all the speaker candidates have been with him in ‘mind and spirit’ but he does make a ‘strong suggestion’ for House Republicans to go with Mike Johnson. ‘GET IT DONE AND FAST! LOVE, DJT’”