About
Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) has represented Ohio’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2011. He ran reelection in 2022 with Trump’s endorsement and won in his solidly Republican district.
Johnson served in the Air Force from 1973–99, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. After his military service, he cofounded two tech firms: Johnson-Schley Management Group, an IT consulting company, and J2 Business Solutions, a provider of IT support as a defense contractor to the U.S. military.
In 2020, Johnson took issue with the removal of public monuments of various historical figures who are now widely considered racist. In an op-ed in the Washington Examiner titled “Our history can safeguard our future,” he argued that “to really unify our country, we must pause and consider our history to provide context for our current national dialogue. We need to step out from behind our keyboards and learn more of the nuance of our shared heritage.”
After the 2020 presidential election, Johnson adhered to the GOP playbook by casting doubt on the legitimacy of the voting process. He objected to certifying Biden’s Electoral College win and voted against both impeaching Trump for inciting the attack on the Capitol and establishing a special House committee to investigate the insurrection, among other measures.
January 6, 2021
- Just hours after pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol, Johnson and 146 other congressional Republicans objected to certifying Biden’s win of the 2020 presidential election.
- On Jan. 16, 2021, Johnson issued a statement opposing Trump’s removal from office for his role in instigating the attack on Congress and the Capitol, and for fanning the flames once the riot broke out. “A 25th Amendment measure or impeachment will do nothing to help America heal, but will certainly widen the division,” he wrote. “And, to intentionally further alienate tens of millions of Americans with raw nerves who already feel alienated economically and culturally by America’s political, corporate, academic, and media elites is both reckless and potentially further destabilizing.”
- Johnson voted against establishing a House committee to investigate what led to the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Instead, he argued that Democrats should investigate all political violence, not just the insurrection.
The Big Lie
- On Nov. 6, 2020, Johnson and 38 other House Republicans signed a letter to then Attorney General Bill Barr asking that the Justice Department investigate the presidential election results based on “widespread reports of irregularities” during ballot counts.
- On Dec. 10, 2020, Johnson signed an amicus brief in a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the results of the presidential election in four swing states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
- In explaining his rationale for voting against certifying Biden’s election, Johnson wrote in a statement released the day before: “there are hundreds of sworn affidavits that point to instances of potential fraud and election irregularities.”