OPINION: Mike Johnson is a controversial choice for Speaker of the House

After a tedious voting process Mike Johnson was named the 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

On Oct. 25, the House of Representatives nominated and successfully voted for Johnson to be Kevin McCarthy’s successor. Johnson is a member of the Republican Party and is in his fourth House term, having represented Louisiana’s 4th congressional district.

Johnson, the son of a firefighter and the first in his family to graduate from college, was 12 when his father was burned and disabled in the line of duty. He was elected to Congress in 2016. Johnson, a lawyer and former chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, has never led a powerful committee in Congress or served in the top tier of House leadership. Democrats immediately pounced on the pivotal role he played in congressional efforts to unsuccessfully overturn the 2020 election.

In Congress, Johnson has voted for a national abortion ban and co-sponsored a 20- week abortion ban, earning him an A-plus rating from the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. After the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade in June last year, he celebrated. Also last year, Johnson introduced a bill that prohibited the use of federal funds for providing education to children under 10 that included L.G.B.T.Q. topics — a proposal that critics called a national version of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. Johnson called the legislation “common sense.”

Despite his triggering stances Micheal Johnson was able to emerge as his party’s nominee for speaker after three other G.O.P. nominees before him were unable to rally enough support. Micheal Johnson presence in House of Representatives has been combining his traditional views with a gentle leadership style. Micheal Johnson vowed to try to find common ground with Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

Many people were intrigued by Johnson due to him remaining below the radar for majority of his career. However, many people are weary of him, because of his alignment with former President Trump’s policies.

According to Axios, Jamie Raskin, a House Oversight Committee ranking member, provided his analysis on Johnson’s appointment, saying, “Having served on Judiciary with him, I will grant that he has better manners than Jim Jordan and Matt Gaetz, but I’ve never seen him disagree with them on anything related to the defense of American constitutional democracy and freedom.”

Steve Cohen, former Judiciary subcommittee provided his analysis on Johnson’s appointment, saying, 

“Never saw common ground on voting rights, women’s issues […] LGBTQI issues or the legality of the 2020 election.”

All eyes will be on Johnson to see if he is the right person for the job or if will he share the same fate as his predecessor.