Meet House Speaker Mike Johnson’s wife, Kelly Johnson: the teacher and pastor joins her anti-LGBTQ husband on a religiously charged podcast and believes she’s at the forefront of the ‘culture wars’

In January, Mike Johnson narrowly won the vote to remain speaker of the US House. Elected to Congress in 2017, he became speaker in 2023 and faced re-election this year. Since then, the politician has made headlines for his comments about Elon Musk, Ukraine and Russia and his recent funding bill, which aims to avoid a government shutdown.

Johnson, infamous for his anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ rights stance, has been supported by his wife Kelly throughout his career.

Here is what you need to know about Kelly Lary Johnson, the teacher who became a pastor and started a religious podcast.

She taught across Louisiana

Per People magazine, Kelly received her degree in elementary education from Louisiana Tech University. She then taught at elementary and secondary schools across the state. In a Facebook post last May for Teacher Appreciation Week, Mike showered his wife with love. “Watching my wife, Kelly, as she taught for so many years, I know first-hand the enormous amount of work and dedication that goes into managing a classroom,” he wrote.

She serves as a pastor

People reports that Kelly started working as a pastoral counsellor at Onward Christian Counseling Services. According to HuffPost, Kelly owns the company, which promotes the belief that homosexuality is comparable to bestiality and incest. Per the publication, the company website had a link to a 2017 operating agreement stating, “We believe and the Bible teaches that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography or any attempt to change one’s sex, or disagreement with one’s biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God.” The website was deleted after Johnson became House Speaker in 2023.