In an interview this weekend on MSNBC with host Jen Psaki, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) condemned the stance taken by new House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), who’s suggested he prioritizes the Bible above the Constitution. The entire point of guiding legal principles defining the role and actions of government is that the Constitution and associated legal demands come first — not a specific religious tradition.
“When we take our oath of office, we put our hand on the Bible and we swear to uphold the Constitution. We don’t put our hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible. The Constitution is the governing document of the country. And we of course have a multiplicity of faiths, and people can choose their faith — or no faith at all,” Raskin said. He then discussed some examples of how this principle has been borne out throughout American history, such as the Supreme Court’s direction that public schools couldn’t compel a religious tradition-specific form of prayer, which would by definition exclude some.
Now, it’s highly unlikely that Johnson and his ideological allies will actually get the chance to enact most if not all of their ideological priorities even while controlling the House, considering the recent precedent of GOP dysfunction combined with continued Democratic control of the Senate and White House. Republicans in the House, even if they pass, say, an abortion ban, aren’t going to see those proposed restrictions go absolutely anywhere outside their slim House majority.
But all of this indicates how major Republican factions would govern if they win more extensive control next year. Trump has already been clamoring about wanting to use the powers of the federal government to go after his political opponents, and who’s to say a Trump administration would follow the rulings of courts directing an end to some draconian tactic? Johnson, meanwhile, isn’t alone in his religious assertions, as Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) has argued against the separation of church and state!
“When we take our oath of office, we put our hand on the Bible and we swear to uphold the Constitution. We don’t put our hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible.”@RepRaskin on Speaker Mike Johnson pic.twitter.com/FHyiRSZm5s
— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) November 12, 2023
