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From dog house to Air Force One: How Congressman Mike Johnson joined Trump's inner circle
Greg Hilburn
The News Star
Louisiana Republican Congressman Mike Johnson has become a trusted member of Donald Trump's inner circle, traveling regularly with the president on Air Force One to football games, rallies and this week to the New Hampshire primary.
"It's surreal; when I call him he calls back within a couple of hours," Johnson said while on the campaign trail with the president in New Hampshire in an interview with USA Today Network. "I believe he sees me now as a trusted ally."
Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson, North Carolina Congressman Mark Meadows, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Emmer, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise depart New Hampshire Tuesday via Air Force One.
It's a far cry from where Johnson stood with Trump in 2017 when the then freshman congressman's first conversation with the president left Johnson shaken and unsure about his political future.
Trump and Republicans like Johnson had run in 2016 on repealing the Affordable Care Act. They hurriedly put together legislation in the House to replace Obamacare when the new Congress convened in 2017.
Republican Representative Mike Johnson speaks to the press after the House Judiciary Committee's vote on House Resolution 755, Articles of Impeachment Against President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on December 13, 2019. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
But conservatives like Johnson and members of the ultra right Freedom Caucus balked, despite Trump's support. "It was haphazardly drawn," Johnson said. "The party wasn't prepared to act that soon. I couldn't vote for it."
Trump called Johnson and dressed him down in a fierce one-sided conversation when he heard the freshman planned to buck the president.
"I thought that might be the end of my career," Johnson said. "The conversation was pretty intense."
That legislation died, but the House, with Johnson's vote, later passed a revamped bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act that failed in the Senate on the late Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain's famous late-night thumbs down vote.
"The last thing I ever imagined when I was elected was that I would have to say no to the president on his first major piece of legislation," said Johnson, who represents Louisiana's 4th Congressional District with Shreveport-Bossier as the hub.
Johnson's path from the dog house to first-class seating on Air Force One began after he was re-elected in 2018.
House Republicans elected Johnson chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a position that had been a launching pad to leadership for Vice president Mike Pence and Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise.
"The Republican Study Committee is the largest Republican caucus with 147 members, which is of great interest to the president," Johnson said. "That's when I began to get to know the president."
Johnson said their bond strengthened during Trump's eight visits to Louisiana, among them three last year to campaign against Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who won despite the president's efforts.
But Johnson's stock with Trump spiked when he was one of the president's staunchest defenders as a member of the House Judiciary Committee during impeachment hearings.
Johnson's performance during the hearings prompted Trump to include the congressman as a member of his defense team during the impeachment trial in the Senate, where the president was acquitted.
"His ultimate gesture of trust was asking me to serve on the impeachment defense team," Johnson said. "It was an extraordinary experience."
Johnson granted nearly 50 TV interviews during the impeachment saga, many on networks the congressman described as "unfriendly territory."
"The president monitors all of that and commented on it frequently to me," Johnson said.
And this week Trump invited Johnson to stump for him in New Hampshire via Air Force One, transportation usually reserved for leadership like House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy of California and Minority Whip Scalise.