A new ad shines a stinging light on Congressman Mike Johnson, a previously little-known Republican from Louisiana who’s become the newest speaker of the House.
Non-profit group Courage for America’s 44-second spot starts with footage of GOP lawmakers this week booing a reporter who asked about Johnson’s backing of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election result.
The video then asks, “Who is Speaker Mike Johnson?” before answering that he “led the charge” to overturn Trump’s defeat and is a “MAGA extremist,” “election denier” and “a mistake as speaker.”
Watch the ad here:
On its website, Courage For America describes itself as “a council of proud Americans speaking out against an extremist agenda that puts money and power over our rights and freedoms.”
Spokesperson José Morales Jr. told The Daily Beast: “Congressman Mike Johnson is a tried and true MAGA extremist and election denier who helped lead the charge to overturn the 2020 election results. He has no business being Speaker.”
On X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, the group described Johnson as “extreme and anti-democracy.”
Johnson won election to the role following a chaotic three weeks for Republicans after their ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and the failures of Reps. Steve Scalise (La.), Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Tom Emmer (Minn.) to secure enough support on the House floor.
Read more about Johnson’s history here.