Mike Johnson objected to certifying the 2020 presidential election both before and after January 6, 2021.
Posted by The NPR Politics Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 6 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 90%
The NPR Politics PodcastAug 28, 2026
Multiple tier1 and tier2 sources (AP, PBS NewsHour, PolitiFact, Newsweek, and the Wall Street Journal-type reporting) report that Mike Johnson objected to certifying the 2020 election on January 6, 2021, and that he voted against certifying Biden's win even after the Jan. 6 attack, per the AP and wwno/AP report. The claim's scope (objecting both before and after Jan.
A guest makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post, and on the guest's own record.
What was said
… But by and large, like we talked about before, election integrity means different things to the different parties, and, uh, it's worth remembering here that leaders in Congress, including now Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, before he was Speaker of the House, objected to certifying the election, and that was not just before January 6 but also after January 6, and he was a primary litigant in some of the cases that, ah, you know, the President and his allies waged to try to remain in power despite losing the presidential election. …
The NPR Politics Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. PBS NewsHour reports Johnson 'objected to the results on January 6' and supported a state lawsuit seeking to object to certification.[2]
Supports. AP reports Johnson took the lead in filing a brief in a lawsuit seeking to overturn Biden's 2020 win, which is an action before January 6, 2021.[1][3]
Supports. AP (via WWNO) states Johnson 'voted against certifying Biden's win even after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.'[3]
Supports. PolitiFact reports Johnson was one of 37 Republicans who announced on Jan. 6, before Congress convened, that they would vote to sustain objections to slates of electors.[4][5]
Supports. Newsweek reports Johnson was among 147 congressional Republicans who voted against certifying the results in Arizona and Pennsylvania hours after the Jan. 6 riot.[6]
Context. The claimant's own passage is not evidence; the claim's framing matches the passage's statement that Johnson objected both before and after January 6.
Sources
6 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 tier 2, 4 not rated
- 1House speaker Mike Johnson tried to help overturn 2020 electionapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2PBS News Hour | Who is Speaker Mike Johnson and what can he accomplish? | Season 2023pbs.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 3New US House speaker tried to help overturn the 2020 ...wwno.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4PolitiFact | Mike Johnson sought to overturn 2020 election ...api.politifact.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Mike Johnson sought to overturn 2020 election, will oversee 2024 certification as speakerstatesman.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Is Mike Johnson an Election Denier? Voting Record Explorednewsweek.com · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Mike Johnson was a primary litigant in cases filed by Donald Trump and his allies to challenge the 2020 presidential election results.Mixed
- Mike Johnson played a central role in Donald Trump's legal efforts to remain in power in 2020 and 2021.True
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- Mike Johnson served in the Louisiana state legislature.True
- Mike Johnson raised $860 million for House Republicans in the three years since becoming Speaker.False