What Do We Know About House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson?

Fresh Air

NPR

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4.4 • 34.4K Ratings

🗓️ 26 October 2023

⏱️ 50 minutes

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Summary

New Yorker writer Jonathan Blitzer gives a deeper lens into Johnson, a conservative who refused to certify the 2020 election results. Blitzer also talks about the influence of Rep. Jim Jordan.

Kevin Whitehead reviews a new album from big band composer Darcy James Argue.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's B.A. Parker from CodeSwitch, the Race Identity Podcast from NPR.
0:04.8	I'm one of thousands of NPR network voices
0:07.6	and more than 200 local newsrooms across the country.
0:10.5	The NPR network, what you hear changes everything.
0:14.8	Learn more at npr.org slash network.
0:18.6	Support for this podcast comes from the New Bower Family Foundation,
0:22.8	supporting WHY Wise Fresh Air and its commitment to sharing ideas
0:27.3	and encouraging meaningful conversation.
0:57.3	This saga in search for a new speaker began after the Republican-led House
1:01.2	ousted Kevin McCarthy while in session.
1:04.2	It's the first time in US history that that's ever happened.
1:07.8	Johnson, now the new speaker, is a deeply conservative lawmaker
1:11.6	who opposes abortion rights in same-sex marriage.
1:14.8	He also played a significant role in congressional efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
1:20.0	He's now the second in line to the presidency.
1:23.2	Jonathan Blitzer is a staff writer at the New Yorker
1:26.0	and has been following this story.
1:27.9	He says,
1:28.7	Johnson represents a far-right ideology,
1:31.3	much like congressional colleagues like Jim Jordan.
1:34.2	The difference, he says,
1:35.6	is that Johnson up until now has been less visible and vocal.
	...

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