Following Wednesday’s election of the new Republican House Speaker, U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson (La.), President Joe Biden and the top Democrats of both chambers pledged to work with him in good faith, noting the appropriations bills that must be passed before Nov. 17 to avoid a government shutdown and shore up America’s national security interests.

Meanwhile, other elected Democrats, along with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic National Committee, and advocacy groups closely tied to the party, responded by flagging Johnson’s far-right conservative record, particularly with respect to LGBTQ and reproductive rights – arguing, in many cases, that his election is proof of the Republican Party’s embrace of extremism.  

“Mike Johnson is Jim Jordan in a sports coat,” DCCC Spokesperson Viet Shelton said in a statement to the Washington Blade, comparing the lesser-known Republican leader with the outspoken, bomb-throwing hardline congressman from Ohio (who is often seen without a jacket).  

He continued, “Electing him as Speaker sends a clear signal that the so-called moderate House Republicans have completely fallen in line with his repellent, discriminatory attacks on the LGBTQ community. From introducing a federal “Don’t Say Gay” bill to propelling openly homophobic commentary before Congress, Johnson has consistently attacked the LGBTQ community with hate and ignorance.”

The LGBTQ Victory Fund, which works to elect LGBTQ candidates to public office, told the Blade that House Republicans’ choice of Johnson for speaker will jeopardize the seats of GOP members in vulnerable districts.

“Mike Johnson prides himself on discrimination and hatred for LGBTQ+ people, dedicating most of his career to opposing our basic rights. He introduced a federal “Don’t Say Gay” bill, is the current sponsor of three national abortion bans, is against marriage equality and wants to ban lifesaving gender-affirming care,” the group said in a statement.

The group’s statement continues, “By casting their ballots for Rep. Johnson, representatives like Ken Calvert, Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Mike Lawler have made their anti-LGBTQ, anti-choice views very clear. Polling shows voters favor pro-equality and pro-choice legislation – these extremist votes will undoubtedly have consequences on Election Day.”

In a post Wednesday pinned to her page on X, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.), the chamber’s second highest-ranking Democrat, said, “House Republicans have learned nothing from their three-week civil war. Mike Johnson wants to criminalize abortion everywhere and degrade democracy for everyone. They reject reasonable bipartisanship and celebrate MAGA fealty.”

The Congressional Equality Caucus released a statement from its Chair, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who said “Today, the House had the opportunity to elect a Speaker of the House who could lead in a bipartisan manner to move America forward. Instead, extreme MAGA Republicans elected a Speaker who has dedicated his career to attacking LGBTQI+ people and pushing an anti-equality agenda.”

“The House has already taken more than 10 anti-equality votes this Congress,” Pocan said. “By electing Mike Johnson—a vehement opponent of LGBTQI+ equality—as Speaker, his supporters have signaled they want these attacks against our community to continue.”

Six of the Equality Caucus’s eight co-chairs, all of whom are LGBTQ, condemned Johnson’s election in separate statements or posts on X: Democratic U.S. Reps. Mark Takano (Calif.), Becca Balint (Vt.), Robert Garcia (Calif.), Sharice Davids (Kan.) Eric Sorensen (Ill.), and Ritchie Torres (N.Y.).

Stalled for weeks by House GOP’s failure to choose a speaker, leading Democrats urge bipartisanship

In a statement congratulating Johnson, Biden said that while House Republicans spent the last 22 days trying to unite around a new leader, he was working on a funding package addressing national security needs, the border, and other investments on behalf of the American people:

“Jill and I congratulate Speaker Johnson on his election.

“As I said when this process began, whoever the Speaker is, I will seek to work with them in good faith on behalf of the American people. That’s a principle I have always held to, and that I’ve acted on – delivering major bipartisan legislation on infrastructure, outcompeting China, gun reform, and veterans care.

“I restated my willingness to continue working across the aisle after Republicans won the majority in the House last year. By the same token, the American people have made clear that they expect House Republicans to work with me and with Senate Democrats to govern across the aisle – to protect our urgent national security interests and grow our economy for the middle class.

“While House Republicans spent the last 22 days determining who would lead their conference, I have worked on those pressing issues, proposing a historic supplemental funding package that advances our bipartisan national security interests in Israel and Ukraine, secures our border, and invests in the American people.  These priorities have been endorsed by leaders in both parties.

“We need to move swiftly to address our national security needs and to avoid a shutdown in 22 days. Even though we have real disagreements about important issues, there should be mutual effort to find common ground wherever we can. This is a time for all of us to act responsibly, and to put the good of the American people and the everyday priorities of American families above any partisanship.”

According to a White House pool report Wednesday from The Guardian’s Washington bureau chief David Smith, Biden called Johnson to congratulate him and “expressed that he looks forward to working together to find common ground on behalf of the American people.”

A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment addressing fears and concerns among the LGBTQ community over Johnson’s election.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) posted a clip on X from his floor speech in which he calls for bipartisan cooperation.

House Dems are ready to get to work.

Defend the progress that has been made.

And continue to deliver for the people. pic.twitter.com/7PNIaWhcKX

— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) January 7, 2023

Likewise, in a statement on X, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) said, “I look forward to meeting with Speaker Johnson soon to discuss the path forward to avoid a shutdown. I’ll convey that bipartisanship is the only way we can deliver results. The only way to avoid a shutdown, pass critical funding, deliver common-sense investments is bipartisanship.”

LGBTQ groups highlight Johnson’s extremism

The Human Rights Campaign issued a press release headlined: “As  Extreme as It Gets: Supposed ‘Moderates’ in GOP Conference Choose as Speaker an Election Denier Who Called LGBTQ+ People a ‘Deviant Group’.

“The MAGA House majority has selected the most anti-equality Speaker in U.S. history by elevating Mike Johnson,” the organization’s President Kelley Robinson said in a statement, “a choice that will be a stain on the record of everyone who voted for him.”

“Johnson is someone who doesn’t hesitate to express his disdain for the LGTBQ+ community from the rooftops and then introduces legislation that seeks to erase us from society,” she wrote, adding, “Just like Jim Jordan, Mike Johnson is an election-denying, anti-LGBTQ+ extremist, and the lawmakers who appeared to stand on principle in opposing Jordan’s bid have revealed themselves to be just as out-of-touch as their new leader.”

After Robinson’s comments, HRC’s press release goes on to highlight Johnson’s “Appalling History of Attacking LGBTQ+ Rights.”

On X, GLAAD linked to the congressman’s GLAAD Accountability Project page, which contains details on his record, writing in the post that Johnson “has a long anti-LGBTQ history, including authoring a federal “Don’t Say LGBTQ” bill last year, working as senior attorney and spokesperson for the anti-LGBTQ group Alliance Defending Freedom.”

Brian K. Bond, president of PFLAG National, said the organization “welcomes an end to the constitutional crisis caused by the vacancy in the second in line to the presidency. To be clear, Speaker Johnson has a history of working to deny freedom to LGBTQ+ people and families in the U.S., to deny the legitimacy of the federal election, and to deny access to safe and legal abortion.”

“The role of Speaker requires that he works to preserve the rights and freedoms of all Americans, no matter their race, where they are from, their gender, or their ability,” he said, “and PFLAG is watching and willing to hold him accountable—because the lives and well-being of LGBTQ+ people and their loved ones depend on it.”

“I would be hard-pressed to think of a worse member to be elected speaker of the house, not simply for LGBTQ communities, but for the American people,” National LGBTQ Task Force Director Allen Morris said in an emailed statement.

“Many of my family members have resided in the 4th Congressional district of Louisiana for decades so I know from personal experience his track record on civil rights and minority issues is clear and stark as our community continues to find itself under attack,” he said.
 
“Americans should consider his track record on the preservation and maintenance of our very democracy as one that should concern us all,” Morris said. “This entire process of choosing a new speaker of the house has only served to expose even more how MAGA extremism continues to degrade our ability to allow Congress to reconcile the important issues impacting us.”