Dems Pounce on Speaker Johnson's Abortion Record

Democrats and abortion rights organizations are pouncing on newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for his "extreme" pro-life comments and positions on the controversial issue.

"Mike Johnson, probably more so than almost any other member of the House Republican conference, wants to criminalize abortion care and impose a nationwide ban," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Wednesday morning during an event hosted by the Center for American Progress, which preceded the House floor vote in which Johnson was elected. "Later on, today, [Democrats] will make clear that we will continue to forcefully push back against that extremism."

Johnson, 51, emerged as the candidate of the Republican conference and defeated Jeffries in a floor vote Wednesday afternoon of 220-209.

The Hill reported that Johnson earned an A+ rating from the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America organization and has co-sponsored pro-life legislation.

Prior to entering Congress in 2016, Johnson worked as an attorney and spokesman for the Alliance Defending Freedom legal group that crafted anti-abortion laws, including the Mississippi Dobbs case that led the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling that made abortion legal nationwide.

"Roe v. Wade gave constitutional cover to the elective killing of unborn children in America. Period," Johnson said in a video of an undated hearing posted on X by the House Judiciary Dems. "You think about the implications of that on the economy. We're all struggling here to cover the bases of Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid and all the rest. If we had all those able-bodied workers in the economy, we wouldn't be going upside down and toppling over like this."

Democrat-led House Pro-Choice Caucus members also criticized Johnson for his views on the issue in a statement.

"With an extreme record that includes supporting a complete nationwide abortion ban, Mike Johnson may hold the title of Speaker, but he does not speak for us or for the American people's pro-choice majority," Diana DeGette, D-Colo., and Barbara Lee, D-Calif., co-chairs of the House Pro-Choice Caucus, said in a statement to the news outlet.

The backlash Wednesday included a statement from the campaign of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

"Now [former President] Donald Trump has his loyal foot soldier to ban abortion nationwide, lead efforts to deny free and fair election results, gut Social Security and Medicare, and advance the extreme MAGA agenda at the expense of middle-class families," Ammar Moussa, spokesperson for Biden-Harris 2024 said in a statement to The Hill. "And so, to every MAGA Republican who supported this choice: We'll see you in November."

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