Former House Clerk Cheryl Johnson returned to the Capitol on Tuesday to accept an award that acknowledged the role she played during two of the most historic and chaotic moments in congressional history: the attack on Jan. 6, 2021, and Kevin McCarthy’s drawn-out election as speaker, when she calmly guided the chamber through its most ballots since 1860.
“There was a time where not everyone on television knew who Cheryl Johnson was,” said Jane Campbell, president of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. “Now that’s changed.”
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who tapped Johnson for clerk in 2018, praised her pick’s professionalism, including “her poise, her judgment, and her management prowess.”
