- On Wednesday, the House elected Rep. Mike Johnson to become the newest speaker of the House.
- Johnson is currently scheduled to speak at a Christian anti-transgender conference in 2024.
- He also introduced a federal bill in 2022 akin to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law.
Newly-elected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is scheduled to speak next year at a Christian anti-transgender conference held at a life-size recreation of Noah's Ark.
On Wednesday, Republicans in the House voted as a bloc to promote Johnson to the speakership role after several weeks of the chamber attempting to function without a speaker following former Speaker Kevin McCarthy's surprising ouster.
And while any plans that Johnson made before his sudden rise to becoming speaker are likely in limbo, considering he's now tasked with helping prevent a government shutdown, pass a farm bill, and more, events that were on the speaker's prior calendar can give a glimpse to his views and priorities as a legislator.
According to the website of Answers for Genesis, a Christian apologetics ministry that runs a Creation Museum and a full-scale version of Noah's Ark from the biblical story, the organization currently plans for Johnson and his wife, Kelly, to speak at its "Reclaim: Answers for Women 2024 Weekday Conference" on April 3rd.
A spokesperson for Answers for Genesis told Insider on Thursday that due to Johnson becoming speaker so suddenly, they weren't sure if he'd still be able to attend the April event.
"Things are moving so fast right now I don't think he's had a chance to look ahead to April yet," the spokesperson said.
Representatives in Johnson's office did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
The event's online page says that the central theme of the event is to fight back against the "cultural war on women" and the growing acceptance of transgender women in the US. Only women are allowed to attend the event, where they will "learn how to reclaim God's good design for women and overcome the war on women that threatens to overtake us," according to the event's page.
Answers for Genesis' website also prominently highlights the organization's views on transgender people, likening gender-affirming surgeries to mutilation and suggests that "people who hate God can't attack him directly, so they do the closest thing they can—they attack the image of God in humans."
It's not fully clear what the exact talk that Johnson and his wife were set to give at the event, but it's unlikely they would deliver a counterargument to the event's theme, as Johnson once supported criminalizing gay sex, has publicly spoken out against same-sex marriage on several occasions, and introduced a federal bill in 2022 akin to the state of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law, though it was never assigned to a committee.
Before his time in Congress, Johnson once served as counsel for Answers for Genesis, where he sued the state for tax credits to fund the creation and installation of the massive ark.