In an interview last week with Fox News, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) pushed back at the scrutiny that he has received since being elected as Speaker of the House. While noting that criticism of political leaders was to be expected, Johnson said, “I just wish that they (critics) would get to know me. I’m not trying to establish Christianity as the national religion or something.”
That sounds reasonable. But as Latinos get to know Johnson, it’s clear that he represents a threat to our civil rights. He is an election denier who attempted to disenfranchise Latino voters. He is an immigration hardliner who uses harsh and dehumanizing language. On abortion, LGBTQ rights and other issues, he holds views far outside of the Latino mainstream.
Johnson has already shown that he does not respect Latino voters. In the 2020 election, 16 million Latinos cast a ballot, an increase of 30 percent over 2016. Latino voters were critical to President Biden’s victories in Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Yet Johnson recruited House Republicans to sign on to a lawsuit challenging the election results, which could have nullified millions of Latino votes.
It’s no wonder that Johnson has been widely characterized in the media as the “architect” of this assault on democracy. Even more troubling, he will preside over the 2024 presidential election results, when an estimated 34 million Latinos will be eligible to vote.
On Fox, Johnson said that one of the greatest principles in the Bible was to “love your neighbor as yourself.” However, he does not extend this sentiment to migrants. Instead, he uses terms like “Illegals” and “lawless masses” to describe them.
He has repeatedly characterized illegal immigration as an “invasion,” which is the kind of rhetoric that motivated the mass shooter in El Paso, Texas. Johnson’s rhetoric has invoked that of white nationalist conspiracy theories too, like the so-called Great Replacement Theory, the idea that Democrats plan to replace white voters with immigrant voters. And, ironically for a lawmaker who is so proud of his faith, Johnson has shown little compassion for vulnerable people fleeing persecution; he supports a House GOP border bill that would basically gut our asylum system.
Johnson holds predictably narrow views on abortion, which he once referred to as “a holocaust.” He favors a national ban on abortion and once suggested that abortions were to blame for school shootings. In contrast, polling consistently shows that Latinos support reproductive rights, including 75 percent of Latino Catholics. Abortion is of particular importance to Latinos, as research has found that Latinas are disproportionally impacted by abortion bans and restrictions.
While Johnson told Fox News that his religion was based on “love and acceptance,” he does not seem to love and accept LGBTQ people.
In 2003, he wrote that decriminalizing gay sex would lead to prostitution and drug abuse. A year later, he warned that same-sex marriage would result in people marrying their pets. In Congress, he introduced what was effectively a federal version of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. Here Johnson is at odds, again, with most Latinos, who are “highly accepting” of the LGBTQ community. In fact, 11 percent of Latino adults identify as LGBTQ (compared with seven percent of Americans overall), and LGBTQ identity is higher among Latino Millennials.
The far-right Johnson is likewise out of sync with majorities of Latinos on issues ranging from climate change to healthcare to gun reform.
True, it’s unfair to expect Johnson to be an expert on the Latino community, as his Louisiana district is only about four percent Latino. It is fair to expect the Speaker to be a leader who respects the electoral process.
Johnson’s responsibilities will include deciding the order of business on the House floor, controlling House committee assignments and setting the House legislative agenda. His actions will directly impact Latino lives. That his fellow House Republicans chose to install him in such a key role is as disturbing as it is astonishing. Latino advocacy and civic groups have already spoken out against Johnson, with good reason.
The new Speaker of the House is a sad reflection of today’s Republican Party. Johnson’s extremism means that he cannot be trusted to be an ally to Latino communities. He is positioned to potentially do great harm to all Americans.
Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and contributor to NBC Latino and CNN Opinion. Follow him on X: @RaulAReyes, Instagram: @raulareyes1.