Dr. James Dobson and the whole team at JDFI were excited to learn the news that Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA) was elected the new speaker of the House of Representatives by a unanimous vote of the Republican majority. By virtue of his new position, Speaker Johnson is now second in line for the presidency, after Vice President Kamala Harris.
Millions of Americans were frustrated to see the House of Representatives unable to choose a new speaker for more than 20 days while so many crises were facing the United States here and abroad. But when we saw who the majority finally coalesced around, it was well worth the wait.
Speaker Johnson is pro-life, pro-family, pro-Israel and strongly supports religious liberty. All of those positions are rooted in his deep Christian faith. That is why we are so pleased and thankful to God that Mike Johnson was elected speaker of the House.
Speaker Johnson's faith became evident in recent days as the media started looking for ways to attack him. After he won the unanimous support of House Republicans, he called the media into the caucus room where the vote took place. Before he took questions from reporters, Johnson asked the media to wait a moment while he led the caucus in prayer.
Later in his first speech as speaker of the House of Representatives, Johnson said:
"I don't believe there are any coincidences in a matter like this. I believe that Scripture, the Bible, is very clear, that God is the One who raises up those in authority. . . I believe that God has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific moment and this time. This is my belief."
In the days that followed, multiple reporters seemed puzzled by his worldview and wanted to know more about his approach to the issues and what motivated him. Their questions were clearly hostile. He calmly replied, "Go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it — that's my worldview. That's what I believe, and I make no apologies for it."
That simple answer tells you everything you need to know about this man. By the way, there are more Christians in government than you realize. Sadly, too many of them are unwilling to make it clear that they form their views on the teachings of Jesus Christ.
On a more personal level, Speaker Mike Johnson is a big fan of Dr. James Dobson. At a recent JDFI gathering, the audience was shocked when Speaker Johnson took time to Zoom into the meeting in order to greet everyone and send his best wishes to Dr. and Mrs. Dobson.
Now, it's important to keep in mind that Speaker Johnson is only one man. With a very narrow majority in the House of Representatives, he cannot single-handedly stop the Biden administration from promoting abortion and transgenderism. He cannot overrule what Chuck Schumer's Senate does. Nevertheless, it is a gift from God to have someone like him in this key position at this critical moment.
The reaction of the neo-Marxist Left that a follower of Jesus is in such a powerful position is also very telling. Because Speaker Johnson loves Christ and loves America, leftists are calling him "a Christian nationalist." The Washington Post has already assigned multiple reporters to the task of finding anything they can to bring him down as quickly as possible.
Pray for Speaker Mike Johnson, his wife, Kelly, and their four children. Dr. Dobson and I will do everything we can to strengthen and encourage Speaker Johnson and to bring you the information you need to counter the smears that will inevitably come.