House Speaker #Mike #Johnson (R-La.) ignited outrage among Democrats on Tuesday
by saying the House will follow standard procedure for certifying the 2024 presidential results
-- if the election is "free, fair and safe."

Why it matters:

Top House Democrats have been worried a Republican-controlled House may try to block a potential Kamala Harris election victory on Jan. 6, 2025.

House Minority Leader #Hakeem #Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has been conferring with deputies 🔸 to prepare for next January's joint session, sources familiar with the discussions told Axios.

"I've talked to him just generally about preparations … to make sure that we're functioning and doing everything in accordance with the will of the American people," said House Administration Committee Ranking Member #Joe #Morelle (D-N.Y.).

Driving the news:
Asked during a press conference Tuesday if he'd commit to observing regular order on certifying a Harris win, Johnson replied,
"Well of course – ♦️if we have a free, fair, and safe election, ♦️we're going to follow the Constitution. Absolutely. Yes. Absolutely."

Congress' joint sessions to certify the Electoral College, once a largely ceremonial and pro forma event, has become highly charged since the Capitol riot.

While the violence in 2021 failed to stop certification of President Biden's victory, Democrats fear things could go differently if Republicans win the House and Harris takes the White House.

What they're saying:
Morelle told Axios that Democratic leaders are "clearly paying attention" to the election certification process and that Johnson's comments "give me greater concern."

"When he says things like he did today ... it causes great concern. [Democrats are] getting very anxious about it," Morelle added.

"I think when Donald Trump tells him to jump, he responds by asking how high," House Rules Committee Ranking Member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said of Johnson.

New Democrat Coalition Chair Annie Kuster (D-N.H.) said Johnson is "speaking in code" and "trying to undermine confidence in the election system."

The other side:
Some Republicans pushed back on Democratic criticism of Johnson's remarks, arguing that the speaker included a fair caveat.

"What he said is self evident, in that elections should be free, fair and safe. And I think saying that ... is absolutely appropriate," said Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.).

Said Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.): "If the Democrats have a problem having free, fair and safe elections, that's their problem."

Both lawmakers, however, expressed confidence that the 2024 elections will be free and fair.

axios.com/2024/09/24/johnson-s…

Speaker #Mike #Johnson Tells Paula White’s Prayer Warriors
💥 God Has Chosen Trump to Lead U.S. a Second Time💥

Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson joined Donald Trump adviser Paula White on a call last night hosted by the "National Faith Advisory Board",
an operation White set up after Trump left office to continue the work she did as a White House aide to keep religious-right leaders solidly in the MAGA camp.
The call was streamed by "Intercessors for America,"
a group of pro-Trump prayer warriors whose leader Dave Kubal is closely associate with White, and helped her set up her "One Voice Prayer Movement" during Trump’s first term.

Johnson called himself an “ambassador of hope,”
telling the MAGA faithful,
“I am absolutely convinced that we are going to keep and grow the House majority, we’re going to win a Republican majority in the Senate, and President Donald J. Trump is going to go back to the White House.”
“This is a real inflection point, a civilizational moment, a turning point for our country,” he said, calling this “the most important election of our lifetimes, arguably one of the most important in the history of our nation.”

Johnson said he spent almost three hours with Trump at Mar-a-Lago just after the Secret Service disrupted a second assassination attempt.
Johnson said he told Trump that “it seems apparent to us that🔥 God has chosen him to do this, to lead the greatest nation in the history of the world for a second time.”

rightwingwatch.org/post/speake…

Speaker Mike Johnson Tells Paula White’s Prayer Warriors God Has Chosen Trump to Lead U.S. a Second Time   | Right Wing Watch

Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson joined Donald Trump adviser Paula White on a call last night hosted by the National Faith Advisory U.S.

^{Peter Montgomery (Right Wing Watch)}

Ohio’s 🔹Republican governor 🔹condemns Trump and Vance for Springfield claims

#Mike #DeWine criticizes pair in New York Times op-ed for repeating racist claims about Haitian immigrants

The conspiracy theories have caused uproar and led to an onslaught of threats and harassment.

In a guest essay published in the New York Times on Friday, DeWine said it is “disappointing” that Springfield “has become the epicenter of vitriol over America’s immigration policy”, specifically calling out #Trump and #Vance for amplifying #disinformation.

“This rhetoric hurts the city and its people, and it hurts those who have spent their lives there.”

Ohio state senate leader Nickie Antonio told the Guardian that she agreed with DeWine’s essay, but was “disappointed” that DeWine is still supporting Trump and Vance in the 2024 presidential election.
“What the governor left out with his entire [essay], which I think was beautiful, is that Trump and JD Vance started this whole thing to begin with and they continue it,” Antonio said.
theguardian.com/us-news/2024/s…

Ohio’s Republican governor condemns Trump and Vance for Springfield claims

Mike DeWine criticizes pair in New York Times op-ed for repeating racist claims about Haitian immigrants

^{Gloria Oladipo (The Guardian)}