I met Mike Johnson over twenty years ago while pursuing our mutual passions at the time – advancing religious liberty and conservative values.
One of our first cases together as religious liberty attorneys was defending a school district in Louisiana that had the temerity to open its school board meetings with prayer, only to find itself the target of an ACLU lawsuit seeking to silence those prayers. Together, we also fought for children to be able to include Bible verses in cards they made themselves in class when the school district tried to stop them. Picture in your mind the school blacking out a Bible verse on a child’s created card for his or her mom. In both cases, we won.
Mike and I worked hand in hand crafting our strategy to protect expressions of faith in schools and the public square. We called it the American Heritage Project. These were the seeds that led to two Supreme Court victories - Coach Kennedy’s right to pray on the football field and the protection of the American Legion’s World War I Bladensburg veterans memorial in the shape of a Cross in.
We were in the fight for the conservative movement long before the invention of the iPhone.
Mike committed his entire life fighting for families, religious freedom, the pro-life movement, originalist judges, limited government, and economic freedom. He poured himself into fighting for Bible curriculums in public schools and protecting homeschooling parents from government intrusion. I know a lot of honorable politicians who are trying to do a good job on these and other issues now that they are serving the people. Mike served the people providing free legal services for a quarter of a century before he ever ran for office.
Fighting in the trenches of the culture war taught us many things, including how to win. Mike, whether working for pro-family organizations or when he worked here, at First Liberty Institute, won a ton. So many so-called fighters will charge up hills they know they cannot take just to dupe others into believing they are the real fighters. But for those of us who fight in the trenches daily and have been doing so for decades, know that winning involves strategy, sacrifice, and a vision to see how to turn the impossible into the inevitable.
Mike mastered the art of winning, even when it meant win some now and we will be back tomorrow to win some more. He never backs down and always advances.
It is easy for fools to stand up and yell “this way” and lead the group to defeat. Anyone can lead the charge of the light brigade into glorious defeat. But now is the time for winning. President Trump proved that perseverance is the key. Win some, then come back tomorrow and win some more. Endure the attacks, rise and fight again. Mike Johnson has been living this way for over a quarter of a century.
Mike reiterated his commitment to religious liberty earlier this year at the 2024 International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C. when he said, “While it may not be popular in today’s increasingly secular world, America was founded on the ideal of religious freedom and the belief that every single person has inalienable rights. Since our Founding, America has been the greatest proponent of religious freedom around the world, because we were founded on that ideal.”
Mike Johnson has proven himself to be a fantastic constitutional attorney and passionate advocate for religious liberty. He’s also a winner.
I knew decades ago that if anyone tried to censor our faith or attack our values, Mike Johnson would answer the call and be there to fight side by side with anyone in need of help. He did it countless times over the years. He is part of the culture that President Trump so bravely named with his courage to stand up after being shot and say: Fight! Fight! Fight! I am thankful Mike Johnson is our Fighter in the House because he has been fighting the fight for our values for decades before and never backed down and he will continue to do so all the way to victory.
Hiram Sasser is the Executive General Counsel for First Liberty Institute, a non-profit law firm dedicated to defending religious freedom for all. Read more at FirstLiberty.org.