It took three weeks, three nominees, and a great deal of political strife and infighting to break the stalemate, but the U.S. House has finally elected its new speaker.
That new speaker of the House is Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson.
The Republican congressman isn’t someone whose face is often splashed across the front pages of national news outlets. The 51-year-old is currently serving his fourth term as the representative for the 4th District of Louisiana, which is composed of localities in the northwestern part of the state, including the cities of Shreveport, Minden, DeRidder, and Natchitoches.
While he’s maintained a pretty low profile, Johnson is known for political positions that are deeply connected to his ultraconservative religious views. He boasts strong opposition to abortion and LGBTQ+ rights and has advocated for prayer in public schools.
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Additionally, not only has he backed the false claims that the 2020 election was rigged, but he even went to great lengths to garner enough House GOP support to advance an amicus brief supporting a Texas lawsuit that would invalidate the election results in key states. He even served ceremoniously on Donald Trump’s legal team for both of the former president’s impeachment trials.
With all that in mind, it isn’t surprising that his record doesn’t show any concerted efforts to advance the interests of Black Americans, especially in regard to legislative proposals that are high-profile topics of discussion among Black communities.
In 2019, he said that he didn’t support reparations at a subcommittee hearing, stating that repayments to descendants of enslaved…
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