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Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) issued the following statement after Congresswoman Mike Johnson (R-LA) was elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives:

“Over the past three weeks, the extreme House Republicans kept Congress in gridlock, preventing us from doing our important work for American families in the midst of critical international crises and as the clock ticks towards a disastrous government shutdown. At the end of this unprecedented period of chaos and dysfunction, rather than work across the aisle to reopen the House as Democrats have proposed, House Republicans have elevated an inexperienced, far-right extremist in Speaker Mike Johnson.

“Speaker Johnson has staked his career on imposing deeply conservative ideology into his policymaking, attempting to criminalize women’s reproductive freedom, strip away rights from LGBTQ+ Americans, and gut federal programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. He is a dangerous partisan who played a leading role in former President Trump’s plot to overturn the 2020 election and undermine free and fair elections.

“I regret that House Republicans wasted this opportunity to come together and work in a bipartisan way to meaningfully tackle the most pressing issues facing American families. I voted against extreme partisan Speaker Mike Johnson.”

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