Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) met privately on Tuesday after Johnson requested a conversation with Warnock over remarks about his Christian faith.
What did Sen. Raphael Warnock say about Speaker Mike Johnson’s religious beliefs?
In an interview with The New York Times on Monday, Warnock, the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, discussed his “acid test” for faith and how people’s Christian beliefs influence their decision-making.
Warnock described himself as a Matthew 25 Christian, referencing the biblical passage in which Jesus teaches his followers to show love and compassion to those who are hungry, sick, unclothed and imprisoned.
Warnock questioned Johnson’s faith after the speaker reportedly prayed before the passage of the GOP’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” legislation that cuts more than $1 trillion from programs relied upon by millions of Americans nationwide.
“I don’t understand how you read that, say a long prayer, hold hands with your fellow legislators, and then cut a trillion dollars — $1 trillion — out of Medicaid, calling it waste, fraud, and abuse,” Warnock said.
Warnock also insinuated that Johnson and other Republicans who share his Christian faith are more “performative than substantive” in their beliefs.
“The speaker has a certain agenda and a certain view,” Warnock said. “I think that obviously plays a huge role, and there’s a long history of that. There were many Christians on the wrong side of slavery. They were on the wrong side of Jim Crow segregation.”
Warnock said legislators on both sides should have more conversations around faith
During Tuesday’s meeting in Johnson’s office, Warnock personally raised several of the concerns he discussed in the interview, including the intersection of faith and public policy.
“We talked about the policy, and we agreed to disagree,” he said, according to Politico. “But we also talked about our faith and our upbringing, and that, for me, was important because I think just at a human level it would help around this place if we had more authentic conversations across our differences.”
He continued, “The stakes are too high for us to be engaged in political fencing around here and not have authentic conversations at a human level about why you believe what you believe. And so I left hopeful that we might have more of that kind of conversation.”
Johnson also shared similar sentiments about his and Warnock’s 30-minute conversation.
“I was happy to meet with Senator Warnock today and have a positive, fruitful discussion about matters of faith and our different opinions regarding public policy. Such dialogue is important because it is always more productive to have these conversations face to face.”
Warnock described the conversation as “honest, candid” and “respectful.” He also confirmed that both men have exchanged numbers and will keep in touch.
“I think there are people gathered in this building every week who go to church on Sunday,” Warnock said after the meeting, per Politico. “And I just sometimes wonder what their preacher is preaching about. The gospels that I preach center the poor.”