Home in Shreveport, Speaker Mike Johnson says House to vote on impeachment inquiry Wednesday

Republican U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the House will hold an impeachment inquiry vote Wednesday to advance its investigation of Democratic President Joe Biden.

“It’s the next necessary step to ensure we can enforce our subpoena power because the White House is stonewalling us,” Johnson said Sunday morning during his first press conference back home in Shreveport, where he represents Louisiana’s 4^th Congressional District. “We have a few more dots to connect and see where that leads.”

Johnson's unlikely election as speaker on Oct. 25 vaulted him into the limelight and a job that had been unmanageable for previous Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted by a small group of rogue GOP members.

"I'm still the same guy, but life has changed dramatically," Johnson said. "People ask if it's like drinking from a fire hose and I tell them, 'No, it's like drinking from Niagara Falls.'"

Johnson spoke to a gaggle of local reporters outside the iconic Shreveport eatery Strawn's Eat Shop Too, where inside he participated in a Fox and Friends' Breakfast with Friends broadcast.

"It's the first time I've been back in Shreveport since being elected speaker; this was the center of my life when I grew up," said Johnson, a Captain Shreve High School graduate who now lives in Benton. "I wanted to give (Fox and Friends) a snapshot (of the district) - faith, family friends."

"It's great to be home; the schedule has been relentless," said Johnson, who had only been back to Louisiana twice before this week - once for his daughter's engagement party in Baton Rouge and once for Thanksgiving Day at home in Benton.

Republicans command a slim majority in the House that will get slimmer after McCarthy said he's soon resigning, giving Johnson little wiggle room to manage what has been a chaotic chamber for the past year.

"My job is to keep everybody rowing in the same direction as difficult as that is," he said. "We're going to get the job done."

Johnson, 51, is the first U.S. speaker of the House from Louisiana.

More: Mike Johnson makes history as Louisiana's first speaker of the House of Representatives

More: Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson's life has changed dramatically as U.S. House speaker

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1. 

This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Speaker Mike Johnson says House will hold impeachment inquiry vote Wednesday