Mike Johnson was technically US president for 'about 37 seconds' — here’s why

Bossier City, Louisiana Mayor Tommy Chandler recently hosted a "Prayer Luncheon" where the guest speakers included Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Jay McCallum and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana). During his speech, Johnson humorously told attendees why, for "about 37 seconds," he was technically president of the United States on Monday, January 20.

Unlike the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives becomes president if the vice president, for whatever reason, is unable to take over. And according to KEEL AM/FM (which serves the Shreveport/Bossier City area), the swearing-in ceremony was slightly behind schedule on Inauguration Day 2025.

Johnson, at the "Prayer Luncheon," told the crowd, "It's a true story, true story. On Inauguration Day, at noon under our Constitutional system, the president ceased to be the president. So Joe Biden was no longer the president at noon on Inauguration Day. We were running a little bit behind on the schedule, and (Vice-President elect) JD Vance did not take his oath of office. He was about 37 seconds late."

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The House speaker continued, "So, I just want you all to know: for that brief moment in time, I was the acting president of the United States. The speaker of the House is second in line, so it fell to me."

Johnson humorously mentioned the "executive orders" he could have made during that 37-second delay.

"I'm just sorry that I didn't have executive orders ready to fly," the House speaker told attendees. "I would've been throwing them on the stage.... I would've done great things for the state of Louisiana in that 37 seconds had I known."

Johnson, a 53-year-old Gen-Xer, is a veteran of Louisiana politics. After serving in the Louisiana House of Representatives for a few years, Johnson was sworn into the U.S. House in January 2017. And he became House speaker following the tumultuous ousting of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California).

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Read the full KEEL article at this link.