Faithful America, an online Christian group that supports social justice causes, warns that new House Speaker Mike Johnson could be the “most dangerous Christian nationalist leader” in the U.S. government.
Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, was recently elected to the post after weeks of infighting among Republican Party members of the House of Representatives. Evangelical Christian, he is a close ally from the former president Donald Trump and has often been outspoken about putting his Christian faith at the center of his legislative career.
In a petition released Wednesday, Faithful America, along with several Democratic and progressive organizations, said Johnson was an extremist lawmaker who has a history of harsh conservative views on social issues such as LGBTQ+ and abortion rights .
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“After home Republicans puzzling for weeks before choosing a new president, they settled on a relatively unknown representative: Rep. Mike Johnson, hoping to hide their extremism,” the petition reads. “Make no mistake. The GOP pick for president is (Representative) Jim Jordan with a jacket and a smile.”
In another statement, Faithful American said, “President Mike Johnson may be the most dangerous Christian nationalist leader in the country today. »
Other organizations promoting the petition are Daily Kos, Forward Blue and Progressive. Democrats of America. As of Thursday afternoon, the petition had more than 9,400 signatures.
A spokesperson for Faithful America said News week that the group also placed Johnson on its second annual list of “false prophets.” The list, according to the organization, includes 12 names of “public officials, religious leaders and talking heads who support a Christian nationalist agenda.”
Trump and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, who at one point was a candidate for House speaker, are on the list.
News week contacted Johnson’s office by email for comment.
Johnson has been criticized for his Christian views since taking over the presidency, including accusations of having close ties to Christian nationalism, which holds that the United States is a solely Christian nation and that its laws and government should be linked to religious values.
In his first speech as president, Johnson told the House of Representatives that he believed “God has ordained and enabled each and every one of us to be brought here for this very moment.”
Democratic lawmakers have also expressed concerns about Johnson becoming president. Leader of the parliamentary minority Hakeem Jeffries said CNN The day before Johnson was elected president on October 25, he said he did not know the lawmaker well but that “based on his background, he appears to be a far-right ideologue.”
In an interview with Fox News Earlier this week, Johnson said attacks on his faith “don’t bother me at all.”
“Look, there are entire industries that are built to overthrow public leaders, effective political leaders like me,” he said. “It doesn’t surprise me. I mean, it’s part of the territory.”
He continued: “I would just like them to get to know me. I’m not trying to establish Christianity as the national religion or anything like that. That’s not what this is about at all .”
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