May 10, 2024 - Politics & Policy

Mike Johnson sides with Trump on abortion bans staying in "states' purview"

Lauren Floyd

Mike Johnson at podium with former President Trump in background — Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and former President Trump during an election integrity press conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on April 12, 2024. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is on record saying he doesn't anticipate passing a nationwide abortion ban if Republicans achieve a majority in both chambers of Congress in November.

Why it matters: Johnson's remarks, shared in an interview Politico published Friday, coincide with those former President Trump made against a national abortion ban.

"President Trump said this is in the states' purview now," Johnson said. "After the Dobbs decision, I think that's where it is.

Yes, but: Johnson in 2022 co-sponsored federal legislation to ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat was detected and last January posted on X that "[w]e will get the number of abortions to ZERO!!" in Louisiana because of the fall of Roe v Wade.

Trump took credit for the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, an act made possible after he appointed three conservative justices to the court.

The other side: Democrats have consistently laid blame at Trump's feet for restrictive abortion laws and an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that temporarily froze in vitro fertilization services.

What he's saying: "Look, I am a lifelong pro-lifer. I'm a product of a teen pregnancy. And so I believe in the sanctity of human life," Johnson said during the interview.

"It's also an important article of faith for me. But I have 434 colleagues here."

Go deeper: Trump says abortion should be left to states, doesn't endorse national ban

Add Axios on Google

Mike Johnson sides with Trump on abortion bans staying in "states' purview"

What to read next