The House’s new speaker, Mike Johnson, isn’t well known in farm country, or most of the rest of the nation for that matter. But Rep. Frank Lucas, a former chairman of the House Ag Committee, says Lucas is a likable, low-key conservative who should be able to unite House Republicans.
“I think he can pull us together. He's a real conservative, so we're back on track. We're headed forward again, I think,” Lucas, R-Okla., said in an interview with Agri-Pulse Newsmakers.
Lucas describes Johnson as “very positive, very pleasant,” temperamentally different than some of the GOP firebrands. “He doesn't have the scars and scratches and calluses other members have, but that's OK,” Lucas said.
By the way: Some 61 House Republicans sent a letter to Johnson Thursday urging “swift passage” of a new farm bill. “More than 92 percent of our nation’s planted acres are represented by Republican Members,” the letter says.