NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
House Speaker Mike Johnson slammed California Gov. Gavin Newsom for his “anti-Christian rhetoric” in the aftermath of the deadly shooting in Minnesota.
Johnson, speaking during his first press conference since lawmakers returned from an extended recess, noted that the Democrat governor had taken personal jabs at him in recent weeks and accused Newsom of “shamelessly” mocking the victims of the Annunciation Catholic School shooting, where two children were killed and 17 people injured during morning Mass.
NEWSOM REBUKES WHITE HOUSE DEFENSE OF PRAYER AFTER SHOOTING: KIDS WERE ‘LITERALLY PRAYING AS THEY GOT SHOT AT’
The Louisiana Republican pointed to Newsom’s post on X in response to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who condemned MSNBC commentator and former White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s comments criticizing the outpouring of “thoughts and prayers” and lack of focus on gun control.
Leavitt slammed Psaki’s comments as “incredibly insensitive and disrespectful” to Americans of faith.
“These children were literally praying as they got shot at,” Newsom fired back.
Johnson called Newsom’s remarks “sick.”
MINNESOTA BISHOP REBUKES DEM MAYOR FOR DISMISSING PRAYER FOLLOWING DEADLY CATHOLIC SCHOOL ATTACK
“I mean, like, why would we do that? Why would you do that? Except that you are starving for attention,” he said. “It’s detestable. Two children were murdered. More than a dozen were hospitalized, and Gavin Newsom’s response was to sneer and condemn those who seek out our creator in the darkest moments.”
“I just thought it was, I just thought it was evil. In fact, it’s indicative of such a profound moral decay that really the only hope for Gavin Newsom is prayer.”
MINNESOTA GOV. TIM WALZ SAYS IT’S TIME TO ‘TAKE SERIOUS ACTION’ AFTER DEADLY SCHOOL SHOOTING
Newsom again took to social media to respond to the speaker, and quoted a Bible verse that read “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have their reward in full.”
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., charged that the shooting was the result of Democratic policies and a simmering mental health crisis across the country.
“The way forward is to address the mental health crisis and empower law enforcement to crack down on crime, just as President Trump has done right here in our nation’s capital,” he said.
While Republicans have condemned the shooting, blamed Democrats and called for prayer in the aftermath, Democratic lawmakers have taken a different route similar to Newsom’s.
“Don’t just say, ‘This is about thoughts and prayers right now.’ These kids were literally praying,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, D-Minn., said after the shooting. “They should be able to go to school or church in peace without the fear or risk of violence, and their parents should have the same kind of assurance.”
Others, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have called for Congress to take action on gun control.
