The initial plan for U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson was to resign from Congress in February or early March and start March 15 as Youngstown State University president.

But ever since Johnson’s controversial hiring Nov. 21 by the YSU board of trustees, Michael Peterson, the board’s president, has made it clear that he and the board wanted the Republican congressman to lead the university sooner than that.

Johnson submitted his resignation letters Tuesday to Gov. Mike DeWine and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, stating he would leave Congress Jan. 21. He starts the next day at YSU.

Johnson’s resignation date raised objections by some, as the U.S. House last met Dec. 14 and won’t return until Tuesday. The House will meet for four days next week and then four days the following week.

After Johnson’s resignation, the House is scheduled to meet Jan. 29 to Feb. 1, Feb. 5 to 7 and then Feb. 13 to 16. That’s 10 additional sessions Johnson could have attended if he left in late February.

DeWine, who is in charge of calling special elections to fill congressional vacancies, announced Thursday the primary will be March 19. That’s the same day as the regularly scheduled primary. The special general election will be June 11.

It’s going to cause some confusion as candidates will be filing for the unexpired term and be on the ballot with those running for the term that starts in January 2025.

It’s also a rush job for candidates, as the filing deadline for the special primary is Jan. 19, which is a mere two weeks from today.

After certification of the special general election outcome is finalized, the 6th Congressional District, with Mahoning as its most-populous district, will have gone almost five months without representation.

It also means the 11 counties in the 6th Congressional District will hold three elections during a busy presidential year.

Republicans would control the U.S. House 219-213 over Democrats after Johnson’s resignation takes effect.

The district is a solid Republican one, so the winner of the GOP primary almost certainly will win not only the special election in June, but the general in November. It’s a safe assumption that voters will choose the same candidate for the seat in the two primaries, but you can never be sure.

I asked Johnson about the timing of the resignation, and he said: “My decision on when to start was focused on what’s best for Youngstown State, which is now my top priority. I trust that the leaders and members of the GOP conference will find the needed votes to pass important legislation.”

Johnson coordinated his resignation with Republican leadership in the House.

With so many Republicans opposed to a continuing resolution to temporarily fund the government, Johnson’s timing is no coincidence. The House is supposed to vote Jan. 19 on another continuing resolution.

Also, Johnson has an oil and gas subcommittee hearing next week that impacts his district.

In his resignation letters, Johnson wrote that his constituents are “too often disregarded by America’s elites, be they political, media, corporate and / or academic.”

It was an interesting phrase, as the YSU trustees and Johnson have been bombarded by faculty, students, alumni, donors, past presidents and trustees, and the Academic Senate about his hiring.

Many objected to the confidential nature of the search, which was a first at the university.

There also was plenty of criticism to Johnson’s politics during his 13 years in Congress, particularly his objections to results of the 2020 presidential election, opposition to gay marriage and abortions, and what he says is “indoctrination” at some universities.

To criticize “elites” in the academic world while trying to move away from politics and taking a $410,000 annual salary with numerous perks was an interesting choice of words.

Those close to Johnson say he was focusing on more exclusive private schools with the comment and that he actually was defending YSU.

In hindsight, it would have been wiser for Johnson to make that easier to understand.