GOP Senators Warn New House Speaker On Abortion

Newly-elected House Speaker Mike Johnson has been very open about his religious beliefs, which he said guides his daily life.

New Speaker Johnson tells Hannity: ‘Go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it, that’s my worldview’

Newly elected Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson (R-La.) responded to a CNN hit piece alleging that he's hostile to the LGBTQ lifestyle, referring people to… pic.twitter.com/QHZWpqoA4n

— American Wire News (@americanwire_) October 27, 2023

But Senate Republicans who are worried about winning back the Senate majority in 2024 are discouraging Speaker Johnson from moving any national abortion legislation before next year’s election.

Republican senators worried about winning back the Senate majority in 2024 are waving Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) off from moving any national abortion legislation before next year’s election. pic.twitter.com/yKJt2yhaD3

— NBC4 Columbus (@nbc4i) November 5, 2023

Johnson, who rose from relative obscurity to win the Speakership late last month, remains a mystery to GOP Senators, who met him for the first time during a lunch meeting on Wednesday.

Republican senators believe it’s too soon to tell what a Mike Johnson speakership will look like. “He is so newly elected, I have to confess, I know very little about him,” Senator Lisa Murkowski told @Grace_Segers. https://t.co/Ft91WgrcBu

— The New Republic (@newrepublic) October 25, 2023

He is already facing opposition from the Senate for his standalone Israel aid bill.

The House and Senate are at war on Capitol Hill, over funding for Israel and Ukraine. Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing a bill that does not include Ukraine funding–and makes cuts at the IRS to try to offset the cost of supporting Israel. #NexstarDC pic.twitter.com/zmbkln59hh

— Basil John (@BasilJohnNews) November 1, 2023

Due to his views on Abortion, the Senate Republicans are worried that he will try to expand the abortion ban before the next election cycle.

From The Hill:

Johnson called abortion a “holocaust” in a 2005 newspaper op-ed and earned an A+ ranking during his congressional career from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a leading anti-abortion group.

In 2021, he co-sponsored the Heartbeat Protection Act, which would subject physicians who perform an abortion on a fetus with a heartbeat to criminal penalties, and a bill to implement a national ban on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for when then mother’s life is endangered.

This year, he co-sponsored the Life at Conception Act, which declares “the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization.”

He introduced legislation in February to criminalize the transport of a minor across state lines to obtain an abortion without satisfying parental involvement law.

But Republican senators warn that it would be a major political mistake for Johnson to attempt to restrict abortion on the national level before the 2024 election, urging him to leave the issue entirely to the states.

“I’m still trying to figure out what his real priorities are. Obviously, we know he is [a] strong right-to-life supporter, but whether or not he would work to advance” abortion restrictions “remains to be seen,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who supports abortion rights.

“Based on some of the conversations we’ve had in our conference, there’s been a lot of discussion about the political implications of a vote on abortion that would basically federalize, outlaw abortions. It would be viewed as not politically helpful,” Murkowski said of the desire among Senate GOP colleagues to steer clear of a national abortion debate.