In mid-November 2025, social media posts spread online claiming Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, donated all of his Congressional salary to charity.
Posts circulating on X, Facebook and Threads often used the same or similar language and contained other rumors about Johnson’s finances and his family’s alleged altruism, including supposed rent payments and shelter relief efforts. For example, text in the X post read:
Speaker Mike Johnson lives in a $3,000-a-month home. He donates his $224,000 salary to those in need, gave up a $250,000 bonus to help flood victims, and takes only a $10,000 annual allowance — the rest goes to veteran housing assistance.
He’s paid over $500,000 in rent for 70 homeless veterans, cut his office budget by $1 million, flies economy, and stays in budget hotels — then donates the $80,000 he saves to local food banks.
His wife turned their garage into a free cancer therapy center, and on holidays, their family volunteers at shelters while their kids travel to disaster zones to help with relief efforts.
But sure — tell me more about how conservative leadership doesn’t truly look out for those in need.
Johnson has few to no assets, based on his financial disclosures. However, there was no evidence any of the gestures in these posts was true as of this writing, including the claim he donated his salary to charity. His office did not immediately return a request for more information about his financial portfolio. As such, we have not rated this claim.
A review of Johnson’s 2024 financial disclosure, filed Aug. 13, 2025, did not reveal a checking, savings or retirement account. In 2023, Vanity Fair reported that Johnson had not listed a bank account on his financial disclosure forms since at least 2016, which Snopes verified and which remained true as of this writing, adding to the confusion about his actual finances. Legally, lawmakers must report assets worth more than $1,000, including bank accounts.
“I’m a man of modest means, OK,” Johnson said in a 2023 appearance on Fox News in response to a question about the Vanity Fair report. “I was a lawyer, but I did constitutional law. And most of my career has been in the nonprofit sector. We have four kids, five now that are very active. And I have kids in graduate school, law school, undergraduate. We have a lot of expenses.”
Notably, Johnson did not say anything during that appearance about donating the bulk of his money to charity.
Below, we outline what we know about Johnson’s finances:
No evidence post is accurate
Google searches for information on any donations Johnson has made returned no relevant results. Searches focused on specific claims about his purported donations to veterans, flood victims and food banks also found no reputable nor relevant results.
It is worth noting that Johnson cannot legally receive a bonus for his work as a lawmaker, making the claim that he gave up a $250,000 bonus to help flood victims disreputable. There were also no reputable news reports stating he flies economy or stays in budget hotels, though such details might not have been reported on even if they were true.
The claim that Johnson cut his office’s budget by $1 million was demonstrably false.
The fiscal year 2023 budget Congress passed on Dec. 29, 2022, showed the speaker of the House’s office received about $10.5 million (see Page 460). Johnson became speaker in October 2023. The speaker of the House’s budget for fiscal year 2024 — passed on March 23, 2024 — was exactly the same as the previous fiscal year (see Page 255). (As of this writing, Congress had not passed a fiscal year 2025 budget, instead passing what’s called a continuing resolution, a stopgap bill for when lawmakers are unable to agree on a formal budget.)
Furthermore, no relevant search results came up for Johnson’s wife’s “free cancer therapy center,” nor did any reputable news media outlets report that Johnson’s “family volunteers at shelters while their kids travel to disaster zones to help with relief efforts.”
Johnson’s wife, Kelly Johnson, founded a Christian counseling center, whose now-defunct website (archived) reportedly went offline after HuffPost reported its operating agreement compared homosexuality to bestiality and incest. As of this writing, she was also an adviser at the Louisiana Right to Life Foundation, an organization that advocates against abortion. It was not possible to find evidence that she did charity work focused on cancer treatment or homeless shelters.
The claim that Johnson pays $3,000 a month for rent was the only assertion backed by some traceable evidence. Per Johnson’s 2024 financial disclosures, he owns a home, presumably in Louisiana, but many congress members own or rent places in both their home district and in the District of Columbia.
In April 2025, online news media website Semafor reported that Johnson rented a house from Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California. Johnson apparently relocated there after investigative news outlet ProPublica reported in February 2025 that he was living in a house near Capitol Hill, with evangelical pastor Steve Berger, that was “owned by a major Republican donor.”
Semafor reported it was “not clear how much Johnson’s paying for rent.” Several months later, the Campaign Legal Center filed a Federal Election Commission complaint alleging that Johnson’s campaign committee sent five $2,500 monthly rent payments, using donors’ funds, from March 2025 onwards, to a company Issa owned, totaling $12,500. Johnson reportedly insisted the payments were above board and were for a “campaign office space in Washington.”
It was unclear, as of this writing, whether that $2,500 amount represented the full extent of Johnson’s alleged monthly rent payments.
Johnson’s finances
Johnson did not report any assets or “unearned” income on his 2024 financial disclosure, the most recent as of this writing.
His disclosure did not include his $223,500 congressional salary, but lawmakers often do not bother including their congressional salary on their financial disclosures, since that is already public information. He also earned $29,890 in income from Liberty University for teaching online college courses, per his disclosure.
The document said his wife earned $3,569 from Answers in Genesis, a “Christianity-defending” nonprofit organization advocating against the scientific theory of evolution in favor of a Biblical interpretation of how the world formed. Onward Christian Education Services, the nonprofit subsidiary of her Christian counseling center, was also listed on the disclosure under “earned income” but the disclosure did not list a salary amount.
Financial disclosure rules state that lawmakers must report the source, but not the amount, of income a spouse earns. Onward Christian Education Services’ tax returns from fiscal year 2023 — the most recently available via the Internal Revenue Service’s search tool, as of this writing — stated that Kelly Johnson did not receive any compensation for her work as its CEO.
Mike Johnson’s home mortgage was between $250,001 and $500,000 and he also had a home equity line of credit between $15,001 and $50,000.
Here’s his 2024 financial disclosure in full:
Sources
“18 U.S. Code § 203 – Compensation to Members of Congress, Officers, and Others in Matters Affecting the Government.” LII / Legal Information Institute, www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/203.
“About the Reporting Requirements .” OpenSecrets, www.opensecrets.org/personal-finances/disclosure.
Answers in Genesis. “Kelly Johnson.” Answers in Genesis, Answers In Genesis, answersingenesis.org/bios/kelly-johnson/?srsltid=AfmBOooE1Vq2-mswiJovIuX__1ow3JEsjdXoyhRMzRclwEYU6B-f9zf_. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
“Appropriations Status Table: FY2023.” Congress.gov, www.congress.gov/crs-appropriations-status-table/2023. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
“Appropriations Status Table: FY2024.” Congress.gov, www.congress.gov/crs-appropriations-status-table/2024.
“Appropriations Status Table: FY2025.” Congress.gov, www.congress.gov/crs-appropriations-status-table/2025. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
Bendery, Jennifer. “Mike Johnson’s Wife Runs Counseling Service That Compares Being Gay to Bestiality, Incest.” HuffPost, 27 Oct. 2023, www.huffpost.com/entry/mike-johnson-wife-homosexuality-bestiality-incest_n_653abfb6e4b00110fef0462e. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
“Board & Staff.” Louisiana Right to Life, prolifelouisiana.org/board-staff/.
Brudnick, Ida. “Congressional Salaries and Allowances: In Brief.” Congress.gov, 28 Aug. 2025, www.congress.gov/crs-product/RL30064.
“Campaign Legal Center Alleges Speaker Johnson Illegally Used Campaign Funds to Pay Rent.” Campaign Legal Center, 6 Aug. 2025, campaignlegal.org/document/campaign-legal-center-alleges-speaker-johnson-illegally-used-campaign-funds-pay-rent.
Deng, Rae. “9 Rumors We’ve Examined about Mike Johnson.” Snopes, 1 Nov. 2025, www.snopes.com/collections/mike-johnson-collection/. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
Foley, Ryan. “Christian Counseling Website Run by Mike Johnson’s Wife Taken down after HuffPost Report.” Christianpost.com, The Christian Post, 3 Nov. 2023, www.christianpost.com/news/christian-website-run-by-mike-johnsons-wife-taken-offline.html. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
“Form 990EZ: Onward Christian Education Services.” Irs.gov, 2023, apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/833270682_202312_990EZ_2024070222643709.pdf.
Goba, Kadia. “House Speaker Mike Johnson Rents House from Colleague.” Semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2025, www.semafor.com/article/04/30/2025/house-speaker-mike-johnson-rents-house-from-colleague. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
IRS. “Tax Exempt Organization Search.” Apps.irs.gov, apps.irs.gov/app/eos/.
Johnson, Michael. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORT. 13 Aug. 2025, disclosures-clerk.house.gov/public_disc/financial-pdfs/2024/10071620.pdf. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
Kaplan, Joshua, et al. “Speaker Mike Johnson Is Living in a D.C. House That Is the Center of a Pastor’s Secretive Influence Campaign.” ProPublica, 28 Feb. 2025, www.propublica.org/article/mike-johnson-evangelical-pastor-steve-berger-roommates. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
“‘Kelly Johnson Cancer Therapy Center’ – Google Search.” Google Search, www.google.com/search?q=kelly+johnson+cancer+therapy+center&sca_esv=1bab67044c4ee1f2&ei=SsAbaZjKH9Sq0PEPsKvA6A0&ved=0ahUKEwiYl4SXu_qQAxVUFTQIHbAVEN0Q4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=kelly+johnson+cancer+therapy+center&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiI2tlbGx5IGpvaG5zb24gY2FuY2VyIHRoZXJhcHkgY2VudGVyMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABSJw5UABY5DhwAngBkAEAmAGEAaABgxuqAQQzNS42uAEDyAEA-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&sclient=gws-wiz-serp. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
“‘Kelly Johnson Shelter Volunteer’ – Google Search.” Google Search, media.snopes.com/2025/11/file_name_kelly_johnson_shelter_volunteer_-_google_searchpdf.pdf. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
Levin, Bess. “What’s up with Mike Johnson’s Very Shady-Seeming Financial Disclosures?” Vanity Fair, 1 Nov. 2023, www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/11/mike-johnson-financial-disclosures. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
“‘Mike Johnson Budget Hotels’ – Google Search.” Google Search, www.google.com/search?q=mike+johnson+budget+hotels&sca_esv=1bab67044c4ee1f2&ei=KcAbabKWEp2d0PEP86elmAo&ved=0ahUKEwjyzpiHu_qQAxWdDjQIHfNTCaMQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=mike+johnson+budget+hotels&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiGm1pa2Ugam9obnNvbiBidWRnZXQgaG90ZWxzSIwUUNQEWOcTcAF4AJABAJgBbqABmQ-qAQQyNC4xuAEDyAEA-AEBmAIUoALtDMICChAuGIAEGEMYigXCAhAQLhiABBixAxhDGIMBGIoFwgIKEAAYgAQYQxiKBcICCBAuGIAEGLEDwgIFEAAYgATCAhkQLhiABBhDGIoFGJcFGNwEGN4EGN8E2AEBwgINEC4YgAQYsQMYQxiKBcICCxAuGIAEGLEDGIMBwgIcEC4YgAQYsQMYQxiKBRiXBRjcBBjeBBjfBNgBAcICDRAAGIAEGLEDGEMYigXCAggQABiABBixA8ICERAAGIAEGJECGLEDGIMBGIoFwgILEAAYgAQYkQIYigXCAg4QABiABBixAxiDARiKBcICDhAuGIAEGJECGLEDGIoFwgIFEC4YgATCAgIQJsICBhAAGBYYHpgDAIgGAboGBggBEAEYFJIHBDE5LjGgB_mWA7IHBDE5LjG4B-0MwgcHMS45LjkuMcgHRQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
“Mike Johnson Donations to Charity – Google Search.” Google.com, www.google.com/search?q=mike+johnson+donations+to+charity&oq=mike+johnson+donations+to+charity&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBggAEEUYOzIGCAAQRRg7MgYIARBFGDzSAQgyNjk0ajBqNKgCALACAQ&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
“‘Mike Johnson Donations to Flood Victims’ – Google Search.” Google Search, www.google.com/search?q=mike+johnson+donations+to+flood+victims&sca_esv=1bab67044c4ee1f2&ei=yL8baeqRFOiz0PEPrK6DuA8&ved=0ahUKEwjqlfrYuvqQAxXoGTQIHSzXAPcQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=mike+johnson+donations+to+flood+victims&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiJ21pa2Ugam9obnNvbiBkb25hdGlvbnMgdG8gZmxvb2QgdmljdGltc0i3DVDYA1jtDHACeACQAQCYAV6gAfMHqgECMTK4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgCgAgCYAwCIBgGSBwCgB7QHsgcAuAcAwgcAyAcA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
“‘Mike Johnson Donations to Food Banks’ – Google Search.” Google Search, www.google.com/search?q=mike+johnson+donations+to+food+banks&sca_esv=1bab67044c4ee1f2&source=hp&ei=AMAbaZawMvfI0PEP3_nviQ8&iflsig=AOw8s4IAAAAAaRvOEJgbcuruO5gg1qFD1n5SkXrVNj4z&ved=0ahUKEwiWsPLzuvqQAxV3JDQIHd_8O_EQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=mike+johnson+donations+to+food+banks&gs_lp=Egdnd3Mtd2l6IiRtaWtlIGpvaG5zb24gZG9uYXRpb25zIHRvIGZvb2QgYmFua3NIgBVQAFimFHAAeACQAQKYAZ4BoAHrFqoBBDI5Lja4AQPIAQD4AQGYAhagAvoNwgIKEC4YgAQYQxiKBcICChAAGIAEGEMYigXCAhAQLhiABBixAxhDGIMBGIoFwgIIEC4YgAQYsQPCAgUQABiABMICERAuGIAEGLEDGNEDGIMBGMcBwgINEC4YgAQYsQMYQxiKBcICCxAuGIAEGLEDGIMBwgIREC4YgAQYsQMYgwEYigUYjQbCAgQQABgDwgINEAAYgAQYsQMYQxiKBcICCBAAGIAEGLEDwgILEAAYgAQYkQIYigXCAhEQABiABBiRAhixAxiDARiKBcICDhAuGIAEGJECGLEDGIoFwgILEAAYgAQYsQMYgwHCAgUQLhiABMICCBAAGIAEGMcDwgIIEAAYgAQYogTCAgYQABgWGB6YAwCSBwQyMC4yoAfWwgGyBwQyMC4yuAf6DcIHBjAuMTguNMgHMw&sclient=gws-wiz. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
“Mike Johnson Donations to Veterans – Google Search.” Google.com, www.google.com/search?q=mike+johnson+donations+to+veterans&oq=mike+johnson+donations+to+veterans&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDMyMzdqMGo0qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
“‘Mike Johnson Files Economy’ – Google Search.” Google Search, www.google.com/search?q=mike+johnson+flies+economy&sca_esv=1bab67044c4ee1f2&ei=BcAbaaDeBN6Cm9cP-PC90Aw&ved=0ahUKEwjg9PX1uvqQAxVeweYEHXh4D8oQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=mike+johnson+flies+economy&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiGm1pa2Ugam9obnNvbiBmbGllcyBlY29ub215SIYiULwEWNogcAF4AZABAZgBoQGgAeQUqgEEMzQuMrgBA8gBAPgBAZgCDqACoAfCAgoQABiwAxjWBBhHwgIGEAAYFhgewgILEAAYgAQYkQIYigXCAgUQABjvBcICCBAAGKIEGIkFwgIFEAAYgATCAggQABiABBiiBMICCxAAGIAEGLEDGIMBwgIIEAAYgAQYxwPCAgUQLhiABMICDhAuGIAEGJECGLEDGIoFwgIIEAAYgAQYsQPCAg4QABiABBixAxiDARiKBZgDAIgGAZAGBJIHAjE0oAehSrIHAjEzuAebB8IHBTAuNy43yAcu&sclient=gws-wiz-serp. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
“‘Mike Johnson Kids Volunteer Disaster Zones’ – Google Search.” Google Search, www.google.com/search?q=mike+johnson+kids+volunteer+disaster+zones&sca_esv=1bab67044c4ee1f2&source=hp&ei=rsAbacWcELCh0PEP0aSm-A0&iflsig=AOw8s4IAAAAAaRvOvqo2GAACjVEnPiiSlCPedp6orCow&ved=0ahUKEwjFq8zGu_qQAxWwEDQIHVGSCd8Q4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=mike+johnson+kids+volunteer+disaster+zones&gs_lp=Egdnd3Mtd2l6IiptaWtlIGpvaG5zb24ga2lkcyB2b2x1bnRlZXIgZGlzYXN0ZXIgem9uZXNI0rABUABY6K8BcAF4AJABAJgBdqABnB-qAQQ0OC4zuAEDyAEA-AEBmAIToALzDMICFBAuGIAEGJECGMcBGIoFGI4FGK8BwgILEAAYgAQYkQIYigXCAgoQLhiABBhDGIoFwgIIEC4YgAQYsQPCAgoQABiABBhDGIoFwgIFEAAYgATCAgsQABiABBixAxiDAcICDhAAGIAEGJECGLEDGIoFwgIQEC4YgAQYQxjHARiKBRivAcICDRAuGIAEGLEDGEMYigXCAhEQLhiABBiRAhjHARiKBRivAcICCxAuGIAEGLEDGIMBwgINEAAYgAQYsQMYQxiKBcICCBAAGIAEGLEDwgIOEAAYgAQYsQMYgwEYigXCAgYQABgWGB7CAggQABgWGAoYHsICCBAAGIAEGKIEmAMAkgcEMTYuM6AHvLwBsgcEMTYuM7gH8wzCBwYwLjExLjjIBzM&sclient=gws-wiz. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
Staff. “‘Fox News Sunday’ on November 5, 2023.” Fox News, 5 Nov. 2023, www.foxnews.com/transcript/fox-news-sunday-november-5-2023. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
Suozzo, Andrea. “Onward Christian Education Services, Fiscal Year Ending Dec. 2023.” ProPublica, projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/833270682. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
