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https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/house-speaker-built-career-fighting-in-conservative-legal-trenches-bd0513deMike Johnson came to Congress with a long legal record battling gay rights, abortion and limits on religious expression in the public sphereAfter weeks of failed votes, the House selected Rep. Mike Johnson as speaker following the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
Mike Johnson was in a Louisiana courtroom in June 2015 defending tighter abortion restrictions adopted by the state when phones flashed with alerts that the Supreme Court had just recognized a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Johnson dashed out of the ongoing proceedings to publicly criticize the decision, said opposing counsel Ilene Jaroslaw, who was representing abortion providers in the case. It was a moment, she said, that underscored the depth of Johnson’s zeal for conservative legal causes.This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law.