Faith, Mike Johnson, & Ukraine

The curious politics between two politically divided Christians.

I came across this story in The Atlantic and found it fascinating. If you’ve been following the news, the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson—a Southern Baptist from Louisiana—recently called for a vote on military aid to Ukraine. The move was staunchly opposed by some Republicans because Democrats were unanimously in favor of it and holding the vote assured passage over the objections of many Republicans. Since then, a small number of Republicans have been seeking to eject him from the Speaker’s chair. Because the Republicans have a very narrow majority in the House and Democrats traditionally vote against all Republican Speakers, Johnson could lose the gavel if just a handful of Republicans vote against him. Enter Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.

Gluesenkamp Perez is a centrist Democrat from Washington State who announced she’d support Johnson regardless of what other Democrats due.* These two have little in common, politically and when asked why she would support Johnson, Gluesenkamp Perez noted their common faith. Johnson reportedly changed his position on aid for Ukraine after considerable prayer and religious reflection that followed the Southern Baptist Convention calling on him to support it. Gluesenkamp Perez is a non-denominational Christian and daughter of an evangelical Hispanic pastor from Houston.

You can find the story in The Atlantic here.

*Note: Democrats have since signaled they will back Johnson as a block.