Mike Johnson has been withstanding quite a bit of scrutiny since he ascended last month from being a virtually unknown Republican congressman to his current role as speaker of the House. Especially in the spotlight: the Louisiana lawmaker's anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric over the years, which has now spurred Pete Buttigieg to respond. CNN details a series of op-ed pieces Johnson wrote in the mid-2000s for the Shreveport Times, in which he called gay relationships "inherently unnatural" and a "dangerous lifestyle" that would lead to lawful pedophilia and even people marrying their pets. "This is a free country, but we don't give special protections for every person's bizarre choices," he wrote in opinion piece.
And then this line: "Experts project that homosexual marriage is the dark harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy that could doom even the strongest republic." It was that remark in particular that Buttigieg responded to Thursday, during an appearance on Stephen Colbert's The Late Show, per the Hill. Colbert asked the transportation secretary, who's raising twin toddlers with his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, how hard it would be to work with someone like Johnson, considering the Buttigieg family is part of the LGBTQ+ community.
"I'll work with anybody who can help us get good transportation available to the American people, but I don't know—maybe we'll just have him over," Buttigieg replied, noting his household was filled with "the love of God." He also painted a picture for Colbert on what time in their home looked like, filled with diaper changes, meal prep, and all of the other activities that parents of young children are immersed in. "Everything about that is chaos, but nothing about that is dark," Buttigieg said to applause.
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On Friday, Buttigieg got a little more serious during an appearance on CNN, where conversation on Johnson continued. "Our family deserves to be protected," Buttigieg said. "I will admit, it's a little bit difficult driving the family minivan to drop our kids off at day care, passing the dome of the Capitol knowing that the speaker of the House ... doesn't even think our family ought to exist." Johnson, for his part, recently told Fox News' Sean Hannity that he loves everyone, "regardless of their lifestyle choices." As for his past comments, Johnson added: "I don't even remember some of them." (More Pete Buttigieg stories.)
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