Speaker Mike Johnson promised a group of Republican lawmakers at a GOP weekend retreat that they would strategize on how to keep the House majority. Instead, he led a religious sermon, which didn't go over well with his frustrated colleagues.
"I'm not at church," said one anonymous attendee via Politico, calling Johnson's nonstop Christian sermon, which took place in Miami, "horrible."
"I think what he was trying to do, but failed on the execution of it, was try to bring us together," the attendee said. "The sermon was so long, he couldn't bring it back to make the point."
Johnson — a bottled-up Christian nationalist from Louisiana who is so repressed, he asks his teen son to monitor his porn activities (and he monitors his poor son's activities in return) — "was reportedly railing against government, saying that without God in their lives, people will turn to the government for guidance," according to Meidas Touch News. "The sermon lasted for a full third of the meeting, according to the anonymous members."
Not only was the weekend huddle botched by religious ramblings, it was also filled with tension between GOP House members with opposing views.
The weekend retreat also featured notable tension between GOP conference leaders and Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good (R-Va.), who argued in Miami that Johnson needs to lead Republicans in the direction that is favored by conservatives.
Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) pushed back, questioning if Good — who had voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy — would let Johnson lead or if he would block him whenever he disagreed with the GOP leader's approach, according to all three people who addressed the speaker's presentation. Conservatives have blocked legislation from being considered on the floor several times this term.
Looks like thoughts and prayers weren't enough for this miserable bunch.
