Press Releases

WASHINGTON—U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) released the following statement after Mike Johnson was elected Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives:

“For three weeks, House Republicans have wasted the American people’s time and put politics ahead of the urgent needs of our country. Instead of working with Democrats to find a bipartisan path forward, they chose to cave to the far-right, fringe members holding their party hostage. Today they chose extremism and elected Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House.

“Johnson led the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election and still will not acknowledge the legitimacy of Joe Biden as President. He wants a nationwide ban on abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the mother. He is strongly opposed to same-sex marriage, voted against interracial marriage, and introduced a federal ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. He also pushed for drastic cuts to critical programs Coloradans rely on like Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare. His views do not represent the majority of Americans, or even the majority of Republicans.

“While I am glad we can finally get back to work in the House, the last three weeks of chaos and the election of Mike Johnson have shown the American people the extreme path the Republican party is headed down. I sincerely hope this new Speaker and his party will reject the partisanship that forced the House to a standstill, and work with Democrats to lower costs for American families, support our allies abroad, and build a better future for our kids.”