House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., watches after a joint session of Congress confirmed the Electoral College votes, affirming President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

House Speaker Mike Johnson sparked an unusual religion controversy last week when he recited a prayer in front of Congress after being reelected as speaker of the House. The problem, at least according to some scholars, wasn’t that he prayed in the U.S. Capitol. It was that he claimed to be quoting former President Thomas Jefferson.

Following his reelection as speaker of the House, Mike Johnson recited a prayer he implied was written by Thomas Jefferson. But Jefferson didn’t write it.

So it's entirely plausible that the fake "Jefferson prayer" was searched for on Google before copy-pasted into the teleprompter. When one searches for the prayer, however, at the top of the results is the debunking offered by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation,

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has been removed from the House Rules Committee after being the lone vote against Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) reelection. Why it matters: Massie's departure from the influential panel could make it easier for Johnson to get legislation to the House floor.

Initially, flags were set to be half-staff at the Capitol on Inauguration Day due to the timing of former President Jimmy Carter's death.

Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, and Chiefs defensive ... search for a new special teams coordinator. Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Media, San Francisco has ...

By Carly Thomas Associate Editor Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested that “there should probably be conditions” on additional federal aid to help Los Angeles deal with the ...

Speaker Mike Johnson has tapped “America ... Section 702 is controversial within MAGA world and some of Johnson’s critics, such as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), cited it as part of his ...

Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on the day Johnson was elected speaker in 2023. "If you don't think that moving from Kevin McCarthy to MAGA Mike Johnson shows the ascendance of this movement and where the ...

Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) decision to shake up leadership on the House Intelligence Committee sent shockwaves throughout the panel and beyond, fueling concerns on both sides of the aisle ...

Newsom, a Democrat, has faced heavy criticism over the Southern California fires from Republicans including President-elect Donald Trump, who has directly blamed the governor. The fires have ...