But Republicans remain divided on those red-meat issues, and any such floor votes could endanger the swing-district members who voted for Johnson and helped the GOP clinch its majority.
For some of the most right-wing social conservative groups, expectations are high.
“Conservatives should be breathing a sigh of relief that we have somebody who has been so strong and courageous now with a position of authority, and can do something about actually enacting broadly popular policies that will push back on the Biden administration’s radical abortion and gender ideologies,” said Roger Severino, vice president of domestic policy at the Heritage Foundation.
Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, a super PAC that’s funded state-level anti-abortion and anti-transgender campaigns, agreed: “For the longest time social conservatives didn’t have a seat at the table. Under a Mike Johnson speakership, they’re going to at least have his ear, and at least be able to pitch him on ideas and have somewhat of an input. It’s very important.”
But in his first prime-time interview last week with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Johnson downplayed abortion limits.
“There is no national consensus” on abortion, he said.
Patrick Brown, a fellow at the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center, said the political implications of abortion are real, but conservatives should feel confident the new Speaker won’t sweep their concerns aside in the interest of a deal with the Senate and the White House.
“It’s only one chamber of a divided government. So the idea that he’s going to come in with ‘we’re all in on abortion all the time,’ obviously, that’s not true. I don’t think anybody wants him to do that,” Brown said.
“But, when we’re talking about [appropriation] deals or whatever it is, having somebody who has those priorities first and foremost at top of mind, may make him a little more willing to negotiate on some things that aren’t in that core bucket.”
Johnson is one of the most culturally conservative lawmakers to be elected Speaker in years. He honed his views as a former attorney and spokesman at the Alliance Defending Freedom, the powerhouse conservative legal group behind some states’ strict anti-abortion legislation.
And he is unabashed in his faith-driven approach to politics.
“I am a Bible-believing Christian,” Johnson said in his interview with Hannity. “Go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it, that’s my worldview. That’s what I believe in.”
