Speaker Johnson's Voting Record: Everything You Need to Know
Last month, Republican Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana seemingly emerged out of nowhere to become speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Though largely unknown to the general public, he has amassed a reliably conservative voting record.
Johnson entered Congress in 2017. His term of service, therefore, coincided with the beginning of former President Donald Trump’s administration.
In 2021, colleagues elected Johnson vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, and they unanimously re-elected him in November 2022.
The congressman’s official House.gov bio describes him as “a leading defender of the right to life, religious liberty, free speech, the Second Amendment and free market principles.” His votes on key bills have confirmed as much.
Readers in search of detailed congressional voting records have several options. The website IonCongress.com, for instance, offers an exhaustive list of all votes, including votes on amendments to bills. This is the legislative junkie’s source.
Meanwhile, the nonprofit Vote Smart provides a list of “National Key Votes” sure to satisfy a serious researcher.
No matter the source, Johnson’s voting record reveals at least one predictable pattern.
During years when Republicans enjoyed a majority in the House (2017-18, 2023), his ledger showed nearly all “yes” votes. Conversely, when Democrats controlled the House (2019-22), Johnson voted “no” nearly all of the time.
Perhaps the best way to illustrate his overall record would be to examine the new speaker’s votes on major bills brought to the House floor in each of the last two calendar years, one of which featured Republican and the other Democratic control.
Ironically, on Oct. 3 of this year, Johnson voted against the resolution to vacate the speakership that led to the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy from that role. Otherwise, he has voted in ways that all conservatives — including Trump supporters — would support.
On Sept. 28, for instance, Johnson joined 116 other Republicans in voting against the Ukraine Security Assistance and Oversight Supplemental Appropriations Act. The remaining 101 Republicans joined all 210 Democrats in passing the bill.
In May, he co-sponsored the Secure the Border Act, which narrowly passed the House despite two Republican defectors. Predictably, the White House threatened a veto should this bill ever reach the president’s desk.
Shortly after the 118th Congress met for the first time in January, Johnson co-sponsored several other bills that reflected his priorities and values.
On Jan. 9, the conservative Christian co-sponsored the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. Two days later, one Democrat joined all 219 Republicans in approving the bill.
On Jan. 25, he co-sponsored a concurrent resolution denouncing the horrors of socialism. Remarkably, 86 Democrats voted against the resolution.
And on Feb. 1, Johnson co-sponsored the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. The bill passed in a straight party-line vote.
His 2023 priorities have proved consistent with votes he made in 2022, when Republicans tried to fend off a good deal of terrible legislation in a Democrat-controlled House.
On Sept. 30, 2022, for instance, Johnson joined all but 10 Republicans in voting against the Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act.
Johnson also voted against President Joe Biden’s signature (though inaptly named) Inflation Reduction Act. The other 206 Republicans did likewise.
More telling, perhaps, was his vote against the Orwellian-named Respect for Marriage Act. This bill required all states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states. Thirty-nine Republicans joined Democrats in approving the bill, which Biden signed into law on Dec. 13, 2022.
One of Johnson’s few “yes” votes in 2022 came on Dec. 1, when he and 112 other Republicans joined all Democrats in passing the Pregnant Women in Custody Act. Though inspired by different motives from those of pro-choice Democrats, the Louisiana Republican here demonstrated his concern for the unborn child.
Alas, on one occasion during his congressional tenure, Johnson did not resist the rising tide of race-based virtue signaling.
On June 16, 2021, he joined 413 others in imposing the national Juneteenth holiday. Only 14 Republicans had the courage to resist that bill.
Likewise, Johnson did buck then-President Trump on at least one major piece of legislation.
Johnson voted “no” on the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2018. This bill would have funded a border wall while giving so-called Dreamers temporary protection from deportation. Here Johnson and 111 other Republicans joined all 189 Democrats in defeating the bill, which 121 Republicans supported.
On the whole, however, Johnson allied with the 45th president.
In fact, Newsweek noted that after the 2020 presidential election, Johnson offered “full-throated support toward Trump.”
“We must exhaust every available legal remedy to restore Americans’ trust in the fairness of our election system,” he wrote at the time.
Johnson also wrote an amicus brief supporting Texas’ lawsuit against multiple battleground states that had used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to ignore federal and state laws and thereby throw the entire election into chaos.
“Most of my Republican colleagues in the House, and countless millions of our constituents across the country, now have serious concerns with the integrity of our election system,” Johnson said in a statement to Newsweek.
Then, on Jan. 6, 2021, Johnson joined 146 other Republicans in voting against certifying Arizona’s and Pennsylvania’s 2020 presidential election returns.
Later, he voted against forming the now-disgraced Jan. 6 committee.
Thus, Johnson’s voting record, coupled with his leadership roles, made him an appealing speaker candidate to nearly all Republicans.
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