New House Speaker Mike Johnson Voted to hold a Constitutional Convention in the Louisiana House

While Rep. Johnson served in Louisiana's state assembly in 2016, he argued and voted for calling a Constitutional Convention

Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives voted for a new Speaker. On Oct 25th, Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA) was elected as the 56th House Speaker after Kevin McCarthy was ousted a few weeks earlier. Representative. Mike Johnson was not a known figure outside of Republican circles, and his recent promotion has catapulted him into America's attention. As he settles into his new responsibilities and Americans observe how he leads his party and the House of Representatives, more information about Johnson unfolds. 

After the 2020 election, Rep. Johnson was part of the efforts to overthrow the results. Johnson can be described as a Christian Nationalist because of his Christian-authoritarian political beliefs. While appearing on Fox News, Johnson doubled down on those beliefs and stated that if someone wanted to learn about his views, they should pick up a Bible. In 2003, the Supreme Court struck down Texas' sodomy laws in Lawrence v. Texas, effectively legalizing same-sex relations and, more broadly, sexual acts between consenting adults across the country. Speaker Johnson was on the legal team of the Alliance Defending Freedom, which submitted an amicus brief in the Texas case supporting the criminalization of queer people. Alliance Defending Freedom, or ADF, is a Christian legal firm that uses litigation to limit the rights of people based on religious 'freedom.'

It should be noted that ADF provided the model bill that created the Mississippi abortion bill, which led to the Dobbs decision overturning abortion. In an interview with writer Irin Carmon, Johnson believes that abortion causes school shootings. While practicing law, Johnson argued for a Christian college to not provide students with birth control. Through his actions and behavior, it is clear Mike Johnson has very dangerous views for his powerful position. 

After being elected into the speaker role, CNN uncovered an article from shortly after the 2003 ruling where he argued that states had "legitimate grounds to proscribe same-sex deviate sexual intercourse…" A year later, in 2004, Rep. Johnson grossly argued against same-sex marriage, where he likened homosexuality to pedophilia. 

Before being elected to serve Lousian's 4th Congressional district, Johnson used to serve in Louisiana's House of Representatives. While serving in Louisiana's state legislature, he supported and helped pass a far-right resolution growing across the country. In 2016, Johnson spoke in support and voted for Senate Concurrent Resolution 52, which added Louisiana to the list of states calling for a constitutional convention through Article V. 

Within our current Constitution, Article V explicitly lays out:

"The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate."

National Archives

This lever would allow for rewriting the document our constitutional rights derive from. New proposed amendments can repeal current amendments. The calls for an Article V constitutional convention started making headlines last year, but this is not a new movement and has been around for over three decades. Currently, there are at least four calls for a convention. However, this article will only discuss the two most dangerous. Throughout U.S. history, states have been passing calls for an Article V convention for various reasons. The Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives has tracked state calls since 2015, after the Brown vs. The Board of Education Supreme Court decision. States around the country saw a push to codify racial segregation and discrimination into the Constitution. Eventually, in the 1970s and 80s, a more collective push began for a Balanced Budget Amendment. 

As the above excerpt states, "two-thirds" or 34 states must call for a convention. According to reporting by Common Cause, the Balanced Budget Amendment has 27 states, making it the largest and closest to the threshold. More recently, there has been a much-coordinated initiative from the founder of the 2010s Tea Party Patriots, Mark Meckler. The Convention of States Action, or COSA, has been the fastest-growing call for a convention since 2014. In 2022, COSA captured four states: Nebraska, Wisconsin, South Carolina, and West Virginia, bringing their total to 19 states. However, during the 2022 legislative session, they could not add states to their total. COSA is calling for a convention under three topics, "1) impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, 2) limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, 3) and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress." This is broad and gives them complete control of the entire government. Speaker Mike Johnson voted for the Convention of States Action resolution in 2016. 

Imposing fiscal restraints would ensure social services and institutions would cease to operate at current levels. For example, setting a restriction can limit government funding to the Department of Education or the Department of Health and Human Services. The structure of public education would change drastically; it would likely be privatized because they have been gunning for it since Brown. Massive cuts to human services programs like WIC, TANF, Head Start, and Social Security. Ensuring the FDA receives proper funding protects us from listeria, pesticides in our food, and drugs still under experimentation. We're still on topic #1, with two more to go. Limiting the power and jurisdiction of the federal government would include states having the ability to repeal federal law, Executive Orders, Supreme Court cases, and other amendments. Although the third topic may appear like a rational position for term limits, there is wisdom that comes from experience. However, they are talking about elected officials and people in federal department positions. 

This movement is no longer fringe; with recent support and endorsements this year from Tucker Carlson, the President of the Heritage Foundation, and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, it is becoming mainstream. Some long-time endorsers are Mark Meadows, the former Chief of Staff to Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and the lawyer behind Trump's attempt to overthrow the 2020 election, John Eastman. You can see the list of public endorsements here. The movement's ultimate goal is to change and restrict the power and authority of the Federal government and Supreme Court. 

In August, Convention of States Action held another privately-held mock convention where current publicly-elected state legislators from around the country attended and rehearsed how a real constitutional convention would work. Right before the 2016 election, the organization held its first mock convention. Both rehearsals were located in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. If it needs to be clarified enough, the organization's board members see themselves as embarking on an American revolutionary effort. Another man whose name you should know is Michael Farris. Farris is on the COSA legal board and helped overturn Roe while working for the ADF. On a podcast episode for the Convention of States Action titled "COS Live! Ep. 248: Historic Announcement with Michael Faris," Faris said the convention will be "..like the shot heard around the world." The quote "shot heard around the world" directly references the Battle of Lexington and Concord, which started the American Revolution. 

As second in line of succession, Representative Mike Johnson's support of this theory should be concerning. The Speaker of the House sets the legislative agenda, controls committee assignments, and which legislation will even see the House floor. With the power to determine which legislation reaches the House floor, the Speaker can call for a convention. Although the Balanced Budget Amendment and Convention of States Action have yet to gather 34 states, they surpass the threshold if combined. There is no large push from within the movement to connect resolutions. However, there have been legal and congressional attempts. In 2022, Texas resident Brian Matthew McCall and Texas State Representative Kyle Biedermann filed a lawsuit in Texas to compel Congress to call a convention through a higher court. Their case was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, stating the plaintiff did not have grounds to sue. Their case was filed under the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, which appeals to the Fifth Circuit. During his presidency, Trump spent time stacking the court of appeals. 

In past congressional legislative sessions, Texas Representative Jodey Arrington introduced legislation calling for an Article V Convention of States in 2022 and 2023 because more than 34 states have called for a convention throughout U.S. history. During the 2022 legislative session, Arrington also introduced a bill directing the Archivist of the United States to start authenticating a count and publish state calls for a convention. Please note that Representative Arrington is pushing for any proposed amendments to be ratified through a convention, not state legislatures. Ratifying conventions would provide an easier mode to solidify the new amendments or a Constitution. 

America is almost a month into Johnson's term as Speaker, and with the 2024 elections around the corner, his role could end. However, with the impending government shutdown and the 2024 congressional session on the horizon, we should pay close attention to how Johnson leads the chamber and what legislation he allows to see the House floor.

Edit 11/28/2013 at 5:51 pm: Altered headline for more context