MAGA Republicans stooped to new lows this week with their extremism, hypocrisy, chaos, and — as President Biden would call it — malarkey. In case you missed it: House Republicans anointed a new far-right speaker in MAGA Mike Johnson, who played a key role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Johnson’s extreme record fighting for abortion bans, supporting cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and opposing LGBTQ+ rights raises serious questions, while Johnson has received immense praise from Donald Trump and his MAGA allies. 

Meanwhile on the presidential trail, Trump and Vivek Ramaswamy went even further with their erratic foreign policy agendas by floating the removal of the U.S. from NATO, which would undermine America’s strength on the world stage and endanger our allies. 

MAGA Republicans’ three-week speaker-less clown show finally ended with their anointment of far-right extremist MAGA Mike Johnson, who helped Donald Trump spread election conspiracy theories and led the effort to overturn the 2020 election results.

The Hill: “House Republican tells reporter to ‘shut up’ for asking Johnson about overturning 2020 election”

New York Times: “Johnson Played Leading Role in Effort to Overturn 2020 Election”

NBC News: “GOP speaker nominee Mike Johnson played a key role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election”

Politico: “A relatively junior House Republican at the time, Johnson was nevertheless the leading voice in support of a fateful position: that the GOP should rally around Donald Trump and object to counting electoral votes submitted by at least a handful of states won by Joe Biden.”

“A review of the chaotic weeks between Trump’s defeat at the polls on Nov. 3, 2020, and the Jan. 6 Capitol attack shows that Johnson led the way in shaping legal arguments that became gospel among GOP lawmakers who sought to derail Biden’s path to the White House — even after all but the most extreme options had elapsed. As Trump’s legal challenges faltered, Johnson consistently spread a singular message: It’s not over yet.”

Washington Post: “In the weeks after the 2020 election, an obscure Republican lawmaker from Louisiana led a congressional effort to overturn the presidential results in four battleground states that had helped secure Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump. … Johnson played one of the most significant roles of any member of Congress in the effort to overturn the election.”

The Messenger: “[Johnson] then backed former President Donald Trump’s false conspiracy that the election was stolen by leading a group of 126 Republican lawmakers to file an amicus brief for the Supreme Court alleging that authorities in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan “usurped” the state legislature’s constitutional authority when they loosened voting restrictions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The court later rejected Texas’ complaint and dismissed all related motions, including the brief.”

Johnson has an extreme MAGA record on every issue: He has supported a national abortion ban, backed cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and opposed LGBTQ+ rights.

New York Times: “In Congress, Mr. Johnson has voted for a national abortion ban and co-sponsored a 20-week abortion ban, earning him an A-plus rating from the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. After the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade in June last year, he celebrated.”

Common Dreams: “The newly elected Republican speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives has previously proposed trillions of dollars in cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and suggested that slashing the programs should be the top priority of Congress.

“During his tenure as chair of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) between 2019 and 2021, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) helped craft budget resolutions that called for roughly $2 trillion in Medicare cuts, $3 trillion in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act cuts, and $750 billion in Social Security Cuts, noted Bobby Kogan of the Center for American Progress.”

New York Times: “[Johnson] also opposed legislation to mandate federal recognition for same-sex marriages — a bill that passed with strong bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate.”

Axios: “A social conservative, Johnson is a vocal opponent of gay marriage and a supporter of bans on abortion. … Johnson is known to be a Trump ally and was a staunch defender of the former president during the impeachment hearings.”

CNN: “New speaker of the House Mike Johnson once wrote in support of the criminalization of gay sex … In editorials that ran in his local Shreveport, Louisiana, paper, The Times, Johnson called homosexuality a ‘inherently unnatural’ and ‘dangerous lifestyle’ that would lead to legalized pedophilia and possibly even destroy ‘the entire democratic system.’” 

Insider: “Last October, Johnson led over two dozen of his colleagues in introducing the ‘Stop the Sexualization of Children Act of 2022.’

The bill is essentially the national version of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Law — dubbed ‘Don’t Say Gay’ by critics.”

“That’s led the Human Rights Campaign to condemn the bill as the ‘latest cruel attempt to stigmatize and marginalize the community.’”

ABC News: “An ABC News examination of public records, news reports and documents shows the extent to which Johnson dedicated earlier phases of his career to limiting gay rights, including same-sex marriage and health care access, and through anti-gay activism on college campuses.”

“In 2005, the Family Research Council, an influential right-wing lobbying group, honored Johnson for his work defending Louisiana’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.”

Johnson is a part of Trump’s inner circle and has proven he has no problem using his power to do Trump’s bidding — and he has received constant praise from Trump since becoming speaker.

Congressional Integrity Project: “Throughout his time in the House, Johnson has consistently supported Trump, voting in-line with the former president 93 percent of the time.”

Trump: “MAGA MIKE JOHNSON!”

Trump: “Great speech today for new Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. Off to a terrific start!!!”

Trump: “We think Mike Johnson is going to do really well. He’s popular. He’s smart. He’s sharp. He’s going to do fantastic. … I think he’s going to be a fantastic Speaker.”

CNN: “Why Trump is so happy about the new House speaker”

The Hill: “Johnson won the gavel with the full support of the Republican conference Tuesday, including lawmakers closely aligned with Trump.”

CNN: “But the record suggests [Johnson] is no less partisan, particularly on issues of importance to Trump, like the 2020 election and Republicans’ effort to impeach President Joe Biden.”

Matt Gaetz: “‘MAGA is ascendant, and if you don’t think that moving from Kevin McCarthy to MAGA Mike Johnson shows the ascendance of this movement, and where the power of the Republican Party truly lies, then you’re not paying attention.”

Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are threatening to pull the United States out of NATO, which would recklessly abandon our allies while undermining America’s strength on the global stage and threatening our national security. 

Rolling Stone: “Trump Plots to Pull Out of NATO — If He Doesn’t Get His Way

“At the very least, the former president wants to put the U.S. on ‘standby’ mode — and undermine NATO’s principle of collective defense”

Politico: “Ramaswamy: U.S. pulling out of NATO is ‘reasonable,’ as is ‘reevaluating’ UN membership”

“Ramaswamy didn’t detail, even after questioning, why he was amenable to a NATO withdrawal. Unsolicited, the candidate added that ‘I am also open to reevaluating U.S. involvement in the UN’ without expounding further, even after more queries on the subject.”