Congressman Mike Johnson is a Republican member of Congress proudly serving Louisiana's Fourth District. He represents the nearly 760,000 residents of 15 parishes in the northwest and western regions of the state. Mike was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on December 10, 2016, by the largest margin of victory in his region in more than 50 years. With nearly 20 years of experience in Constitutional law, he has been appointed to the powerful House Judiciary Committee and named Ranking Member for one of its subcommittees - the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. He also serves on the House Natural Resources Committee overseeing American energy production, mineral issues, fisheries and several other key contributors to Louisiana's economy. Mike was appointed to the Natural Resources Subcommittees on Oversight and Investigations and Water, Power and Oceans.
For the 116th Congress, Mike was elected by his colleagues to serve as chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest caucus of conservatives in the Congress. Since its founding in 1973, the RSC has served as the voice and "intellectual arsenal" of conservatism in the U.S. House of Representatives and as a leading influence in shaping the legislative agenda. Each RSC chairman is elected to serve a single, two-year term. Previous chairmen include Vice President Mike Pence and Republican Whip Steve Scalise.
Mike is a dedicated husband and father of four, as well as a constitutional law attorney who has devoted his life and career to fighting for the fundamental freedoms and traditional values that have always been a priority to the people of Louisiana. For nearly 20 years, Mike successfully litigated high profile constitutional law cases in district and appellate courts nationwide. He is widely recognized as a leading defender of the right to life, religious liberty, free speech, the Second Amendment and free market principles. In his law practice, he drafted landmark legislation for many states and municipalities and provided legal counsel to members of Congress, governors, state legislatures, city councils, school boards, law enforcement agencies, ministries and non-profit organizations around the country.
Mike solidified his reputation as a principled, full-spectrum conservative when he served in the Louisiana Legislature from February 2015 to January 2017. He was elected to the state legislature twice without opposition, and he was honored to be appointed vice chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and to the Select Committee on Leadership. As a legislator, he has received top awards from business and industry, limited government, and pro-life and pro-family groups.
The eldest son of a Shreveport firefighter who was critically burned and disabled in the line of duty, Mike learned early on the values of hard work, honor and sacrifice. He has a practical understanding of the challenges that small business owners face because he, like his parents and grandparents, was one himself. Mike was also a conservative talk radio host and columnist, a media spokesman for America's largest religious liberty organizations, a constitutional law seminar instructor, and a board member for national organizations and numerous community groups and ministries. He has also previously served as legal counsel for organizations such as the Family Research Council, Alliance Defending Freedom, the National Day of Prayer Task Force, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Louisiana Right to Life Federation.
Mike earned his Juris Doctorate from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in 1998 where he was selected as a member of the Moot Court Board and National Moot Court Team and was elected class president and president of the Christian Legal Society. He earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Louisiana State University in 1995, where he was selected to Leadership LSU and the Order of Omega Honor Society, Kappa Sigma Fraternity and served as president of the LSU Interfraternity Council.
Mike and his wife Kelly, a former school teacher from Webster Parish, have been married since 1999 and have four children, Hannah, Abigail, Jack and Will. Today, they reside in Bossier Parish.
