AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) delivered a “sermon” at a private gathering of House Republicans that did not go over well with those in attendance, according to a report published by Politico on Wednesday. The meeting was intended to be a strategy session for keeping the GOP’s majority in the lower chamber in November, but according to one attendee, Johnson spoke like the meeting was “church.”
A small group of Republican lawmakers met in Miami over the weekend, where they expected to hear actionable plans for defending the House. Instead, they received a lecture about declining morality and church membership in the U.S. Quoting Bible verses, Johnson reportedly said that godlessness leads people to look to the government for moral guidance.
Citing multiple anonymous sources who attended, Politico reported:
“I’m not at church,” one of the people said, describing Johnson’s presentation as “horrible.”“I think what he was trying to do, but failed on the execution of it, was try to bring us together,” that person said. “The sermon was
so long he couldn’t bring it back to make the point.”
Johnson discussed religion and history for about a third of his presentation. The speaker is a devout Christian who was previously senior counsel for the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom, which opposes LGBTQ rights.
Shortly after being elected speaker in October, Johnson gave an interview to Sean Hannity on Fox News and explained his “worldview.”
“It’s curious, people are curious,” Johnson said. “‘What does Mike Johnson think about any issue under the sun?’ I said, ‘Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it – that’s my worldview. That’s what I believe and so I make no apologies for it.’”
