Congressman Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. has served Georgia’s Fourth Congressional District since 2007, representing parts of DeKalb, Newton, Rockdale, and Gwinnett counties. Elected to his 10th term in 2024, he has earned recognition as one of Congress’s most effective Democrats, championing legislation that strengthens civil rights, consumer protections, judicial transparency and accountability, and community safety.
As a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and ranking member of its Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, Congressman Johnson has been a national leader on court reform, pushing for accountability and ethical standards for Justices seated on the United States Supreme Court. His legislation includes the Judiciary Act, which would have added seats to the U.S. Supreme Court; the TERM Act, which would place term limits on current and future Supreme Court justices; and the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act, which would mandate a binding and enforceable code of conduct for justices, with gift and travel reporting requirements equal to those followed by legislative and executive branch officials.
Since his first term, Congressman Johnson has sought to preserve the constitutional right to a trial by jury for consumers and workers by introducing the FAIR Act, which bans the enforcement of forced arbitration clauses in employment and consumer agreements. The FAIR Act passed the House twice and underscores Congressman Johnson’s commitment to ensuring a fair and level playing field between everyday Americans and wealthy, powerful and well-connected corporations.
Congressman Johnson has also stood against the threat to civil rights caused by unrestrained over-militarization of police departments across the country by authoring the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act (SMLEA), which would stop the transfer of military grade weaponry from foreign battlefields to our streets. The SMLEA became the basis for Executive Orders issued by the Obama and Biden administrations, and was adopted as part of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Congressman Johnson has also led legislation that would provide greater public accountability in the use of electronic voting systems for federal elections and championed the prioritization of equity and inclusion in the digital space. As a former ranking member on the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law, he has sought to empower minority and underserved communities by advocating for expanded broadband access and policies to close the digital divide.
Since 2007, Congressman Johnson has helped bring more than $5 billion in federal investments back to Georgia, including more than $1 billion specifically for his district – funding that was part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act under President Barack Obama and the American Rescue Plan under President Joe Biden. Congressman Johnson has also helped secure more than $175 million for constituents seeking assistance with federal agencies. Congressman Johnson is particularly proud of the constituent services work of his district office, which was ranked number 2 of 435 congressional district offices in the nation.
In 2010, Congressman Johnson was a member of the prosecution team in the impeachment trial of New Orleans U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous Jr., resulting in the first impeachment and conviction of a federal judge in more than two decades.
Congressman Johnson was born in Washington, D.C. and earned his B.A. in Political Science from Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) and his J.D. from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. Prior to Congress, he practiced law for 27 years in Decatur, Georgia, specializing in criminal defense, civil rights, and personal injury law. He also served as a Magistrate Judge for 12 years, and as a DeKalb County Commissioner for five years. He and his wife, DeKalb County Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson, have two adult children.
