Rep. Mike Levin said Wednesday that the election of Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House could be “dangerous for democracy” because of Johnson’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“Make no mistake, a Johnson speakership will be disastrous for the American people and dangerous for democracy,” said Levin, a Democrat who represents north coastal San Diego and south Orange counties.
“Speaker Johnson enabled the Big Lie,” said Levin. “By leading an amicus brief contesting 2020 election results in key states, he created a permission structure for rank-and-file Republicans to try to overturn the election using arguments too weak even for the conservative Supreme Court. And now, Republicans have handed him the gavel.”
When asked Wednesday whether he believed the election was stolen, Johnson declined to answer.
Other members of the San Diego County congressional delegation expressed hope for bipartisan progress on Capitol Hill.
“We agree on little, but I hope he accepts my Democratic colleagues’ and my invitation to put aside political extremism and get to work for the American people,” said Rep. Scott Peters, a Democrat representing coastal San Diego. “We must avoid a shutdown and support our allies in Israel and Ukraine.”
Johnson, a socially conservative lawyer who opposes abortion rights and same-sex marriage, was the fourth Republican candidate for Speaker following the vote to oust California’s Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
