“We call religious liberty our first freedom, for a reason of course, because it's listed first. And that's because the founders understood: your right to believe and to act upon that belief is essential to who you are as an American, but even more fundamental than that, who you are as a human being. And so it's critically important to protect it.”

American lawyer and politician, born 1972

James Michael Johnson is an American lawyer and politician. Since 2023, he has served as the 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and he has represented Louisiana's 4th congressional district since 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. Johnson is in his fifth term in the House. His district is based in Shreveport and covers much of northwestern Louisiana, placing him among the state's prominent Republican officeholders in Congress.