{"id":1027866,"date":"2023-10-25T21:04:10","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T21:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1027866"},"modified":"2023-10-25T21:04:10","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T21:04:10","slug":"what-they-are-saying-republicans-elect-extreme-maga-mike-as-speaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/what-they-are-saying-republicans-elect-extreme-maga-mike-as-speaker\/","title":{"rendered":"What They Are Saying: Republicans Elect Extreme MAGA Mike As Speaker\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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After a 22-day-long speakerless clown show, the Republican Chaos Conference unanimously elected Congressman Mike Johnson as speaker of the House \u2013 architect of Trump\u2019s Big Lie, anti-abortion extremist, Trump footsoldier, and former Republican Study Committee chairman and hellbent on slashing Social Security and Medicare.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what they\u2019re saying about MAGA Mike Johnson\u2019s extreme record: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike Johnson was a leader in Trump\u2019s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and is one of the top election deniers in Congress.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ali Vitali, MSNBC<\/a>: We know that Mike Johnson was one of those pushing to overturn the 2020 election results. One person described him to me as, \u2018Jim Jordan with a jacket and a smile\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wolf Blitzer, CNN<\/a>: Mike Johnson was one of the leaders in decertifying the election results<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Chalian, CNN: He was an architect. He was the chief whip for Donald Trump in getting Republicans to sign on<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matt Gertz, Media Matters<\/a>: \u201cWhile Trumpists rioters occupied the Capitol on Jan. 6, Fox News interviewed Rep. Mike Johnson from an undisclosed location. He claimed to have been taking \u2018methodical steps\u2019 that are \u2018nothing unusual\u2019 to object to the 2020 electoral votes when the rioters stormed the building.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries<\/a>: \u201cThe twice-impeached former president ordered House Republicans to stop Tom Emmer and elevate a top election denier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is anyone surprised that they complied?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greg Sargent<\/a>: \u201cPeople are digging up quotes of Mike Johnson pushing vote-fraud lies. But what makes Johnson really scary is how polished he is in creating plausible sounding legal arguments, not his dabbling in Rudy inky-forehead conspiracy nuttiness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He’s not Vulgar MAGA. He’s Refined MAGA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Adam Schiff<\/a>: \u201cYou might be Googling who Mike Johnson is this morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me make it simple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson is a hard-right, pro-Trump, leading election denier in the House. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, this is what passes for Speaker material in the Republican conference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Pete Aguilar<\/a>: \u201cI\u2019m proud to nominate Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike Johnson is anti-choice, pro-insurrection, and completely out of touch with what Americans want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

America deserves better than this.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Mike Levin<\/a>: \u201cAs House Republicans support Mike Johnson today, we must spread the word about his extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson has been called \u201cTrump\u2019s Perfect Speaker\u201d after his efforts to help overturn the 2020 election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must take back the House next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everything is at stake.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike Johnson is a MAGA extremist with a long history of attacking LGBTQ+ rights, championing national abortion bans, and working to cut Social Security and Medicare.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jennifer Bendery, HuffPost<\/a>: \u201cMike Johnson has a very, very long history of attacking LGBTQ rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratic Women\u2019s Caucus<\/a>: \u201cRep. Mike Johnson said doctors who give abortion care should be \u2018imprisoned at hard labor.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the person House Republicans have chosen as their candidate for Speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesse Ferguson<\/a>: \u201cMIKE JOHNSON. Quick Rundown…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-An architect of scheme to overturn 2020 election<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-He wants to ban abortion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-He wants to take away gay marriage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-He only wants tax cuts for corporations<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-He wants higher drug profits for drug companies<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-He opposes contraception<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Opposes interracial marriage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Opposes Violence Against Women Act<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Against Health Care for Veterans exposed to toxins<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Against Roads\/Bridges (infrastructure)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Member of the GOP’s “wacko and weirdo” caucus (aka Freedom Caucus)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#DisqualifiedExtremist\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Katherine Clark<\/a>: \u201cHouse Republicans have learned nothing from their three-week civil war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike Johnson wants to criminalize abortion everywhere and degrade democracy for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They reject reasonable bipartisanship and celebrate MAGA fealty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Jason Crow<\/a>: \u201cThe House is about to vote on a Speaker for the 19th time in 10 months. Who is Mike Johnson?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Hard-right extremist who voted to overturn the 2020 election <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Called Jan 6 a \u201clegitimate protest\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Fought to ban abortion nationwide <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Believes man-made climate change is a hoax<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An extremist election denier shouldn\u2019t be Speaker of the House.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Jamie Raskin<\/a>: \u201cSpeaker Mike Johnson? Anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ, anti-gun safety, anti-democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is what theocracy looks like.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Chris Deluzio<\/a>: \u201cRepublican Speaker Designee Mike Johnson voted against the PACT Act\u2014a law that provides care to my fellow veterans who were exposed to burn pits in places like Iraq & Afghanistan. That vote is a betrayal to every veteran, and this is who Republicans want to lead them? Pathetic.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Andy Kim<\/a>: \u201cMany of you are asking \u2018who is Mike Johnson?\u2019 What I remember most is that when the Supreme Court overturned a woman\u2019s right to choose, Mike Johnson said it was a \u2018joyous day.\u2019 He is not fit to lead our House and I will strongly oppose his nomination.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Jasmine Crockett<\/a>: \u201cHouse Republicans just elected Mike Johnson as Speaker…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just like Marjorie Taylor Greene & Lauren Boebert, he\u2019s a MAGA extremist who led the effort to overturn the 2020 election, wrote a bill to criminalize abortion, and authored a budget to slash Social Security and Medicare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Pat Ryan<\/a>: \u201cYou\u2019ve probably never heard of Mike Johnson. I serve with him on the Armed Services Committee, and he\u2019s as extreme and far-right as they come:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Helped mastermind Trump\u2019s plot to overturn the 2020 election<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Supports a nationwide abortion ban<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Advocates to cut Social Security and Medicare<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Opposes gay marriage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Voted against healthcare for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits\u201d

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a 22-day-long speakerless clown show, the Republican Chaos Conference unanimously elected Congressman Mike Johnson as speaker of the House \u2013 architect of Trump\u2019s Big Lie, anti-abortion extremist, Trump footsoldier, and former Republican Study Committee chairman and hellbent on slashing Social Security and Medicare.\u00a0 Here\u2019s what they\u2019re saying about MAGA Mike Johnson\u2019s extreme record:  Mike […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1027866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat They Are Saying: Republicans Elect Extreme MAGA Mike As Speaker\u00a0 - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/what-they-are-saying-republicans-elect-extreme-maga-mike-as-speaker\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-25T21:04:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-16.png?w=1024\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Claire DePree\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Claire DePree\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/what-they-are-saying-republicans-elect-extreme-maga-mike-as-speaker\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/what-they-are-saying-republicans-elect-extreme-maga-mike-as-speaker\/\",\"name\":\"What They Are Saying: Republicans Elect Extreme MAGA Mike As Speaker\u00a0 - 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