Mike Johnson helped Trump on January 6 - now he’s a threat to democracy

Louisiana congressman known as Maga Mike', elected House speaker Wednesday, is staunch Trump supporter and election denier

The Louisiana congressman Mike Johnson, whom Republicans in Congress elected as their speaker after more than three weeks of leaderless chaos, played a key role in Donald Trump's attempts to subvert the results of the 2020 election.

Johnson amassed enough support to win the speakership because of his allegiance to Trumpian ideals, earning him the nickname on the far right of Maga Mike". A litmus test of sorts for the speakership was alignment with rightwing views, including believing in a stolen election, though the firebrand approach of failed speaker candidate Jim Jordan soured moderate members, despite his election-denying bonafides.