Culture Watch: 'On Mike Johnson'

 By Bill Muehlenberg

Published November 1, 2023

On the new Speaker of the House:

If you follow American politics, you will know that a new Speaker of the House has recently been voted in. Republican Representative from Louisiana Mike Johnson became the 56th Speaker. This follows several weeks of stalemate after Kevin McCarthy from California was ousted from the position. Johnson was unanimously elected by the 220 Republicans in the House.

In case you are not up on what the role of the Speaker is, one site puts it this way:

The Speaker of the House acts as the leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. Every two years, the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives vote on the first day of each new Congress. Both of the major political parties nominate one candidate for the position of Speaker. The candidate from the majority party usually wins.

The Speaker of the House is responsible for administering the oath of office to the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, giving Members permission to speak on the House floor, designating Members to serve as Speaker pro tempore, counting and declaring all votes, appointing Members to committees, sending bills to committees, and signing bills and resolutions that pass in the House. The Speaker is also second in line, behind the Vice President, to become President should the President be unable to fulfill his or her duties.

While serving as Speaker of the House, the Speaker continues to serve the residents of his or her district and has all of the duties of other Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Traditionally, unlike other Members, the Speaker does not serve on committees or participate in floor debate. https://kids-clerk.house.gov/grade-school/lesson.html?intID=39

The 51-year-old is a conservative and a Christian, and is not shy about it. He is pro-life and pro-family and pro-faith – something becoming less prominent in politics these days. He is a Southern Baptist and is open about sharing his faith. As to his views on abortion he has said this:

'I was raised in a Christian household, and my parents — I was actually the conception of a teenage pregnancy my parents’ junior year in high school. And they dropped out, decided to have me, and keep me. And that’s why I’m so pro-life today. I’m a living example of faithfulness. … They just trusted God.' https://www.lifenews.com/2023/10/27/speaker-mike-johnson-im-pro-life-today-because-my-teenage-parents-chose-life/

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