FAMILY TREE

Speaker Mike Johnson Explains Low Profile of ‘Adopted’ Black Son

“He asked not to be involved in their new public life.”

New House Speaker Mike Johnson says it was the choice of his “adopted” Black son, Michael, to keep a low profile—right down to his absence from the congressman’s bio and family photos. “At the time of the speaker’s election to Congress, Michael was an adult with a family of his own,” Johnson spokesperson Corinne Day said. “He asked not to be involved in their new public life. The speaker has respected that sentiment throughout his career and maintains a close relationship with Michael to this day.” Johnson has said he took in Michael when he was a teen and raised him as a member of the family—and he has mentioned him in discussions of race, including his opposition to reparations, and likened their relationship to The Blind Side. Day said Michael, who is now 40, was not formally adopted because the process was difficult.