Thousands have signed a petition on a Christian website rebuking House Speaker Mike Johnson over his "sponsorship of far-right media personality Pastor Jack Hibbs" for the role of House Guest Chaplin.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican who was elected to the speakership during a tumultuous time in the House following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy in October, has been called out recently over his support of Hibbs, a controversial figure whom the speaker invited to lead the opening prayer for the House of Representatives on January 30.
Earlier this month, concerned members of the House called out Johnson over the decision in a letter, questioning why Hibbs was allowed to serve as Guest House Chaplain in light of his "long record of spewing hateful vitriol toward non-Christians, immigrants, and members of the LGBTQ community" as well as his support of former President Donald Trump's false claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. The letter was signed by 26 House Democrats, led by Representatives Jared Huffman of California, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, and Mark Pocan of Wisconsin.
"After we picked our jaws up off the floor upon learning that this hate preacher had been allowed to give a guest invocation, I think many of us decided we need to start calling this out," Huffman said in a statement to the outlet Roll Call.
In addition to this pushback from his House colleagues, Johnson now faces a growing rebuke from his fellow Christians, with over 12,000 signing off on a petition hosted by Faithful America, a Christian group that backs social justice causes and opposes "Christian nationalism." The petition condemns Johnson's support of Hibbs and calls on him to "stop manipulating the Guest Chaplain program to uplift divisive and hateful figures, and to commit to following the rules of the program moving forward -- including those that require attention to religious diversity and inclusion and to a focus on justice and peace."
The petitions initially set an initial goal of 10,000 signatures, but set a new one of 15,000 after passing that number in only three days.
"Hibbs attended the January 6 MAGA rally in Washington, D.C., that led to the pro-Trump insurrection, preaching that January 6 would go down in history alongside the Revolutionary War," the petition's official page explained. "After the violence, Hibbs even tried to justify the attack on False Prophet Tony Perkins's radio show, falsely claiming that the election was 'manipulated.' He has also previously slurred Jewish [people] as being in a 'stupor' and Muslim Americans as a 'death cult' and a vehicle for Satan.
It continued: "The role of the Guest Chaplain is to encourage love and common purpose -- not to antagonize, hate, lie, or threaten. And neither insurrectionists nor anti-Muslim and antisemitic leaders should ever be welcome on the House floor, period. Let's show Speaker Johnson that Christians reject his promotion of Christian-nationalist pastors now."
Previously, Faithful America also circulated a petition against Johnson after he became House speaker. The organization said the Louisiana Republican could be the "most dangerous Christian nationalist leader" in the U.S. government.
Newsweek reached out to Johnson's office and Faithful America via email for comment on Saturday afternoon. Any responses received will be added to this story in an update.
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Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
