Fellow Republicans Blast Rep. Ogles' 'Idiotic Statement'

Rep. Andy Ogles is blaming a staffer for a post from his official congressional X account that declared "Homosexuality has no place in America. Happy Nuclear Family Month" at the start of Pride Month. The Tennessee Republican deleted the message and later wrote that "a member of my comms team" sent it. Ogles called the post "stupid, hurtful, and a complete distraction" and said the employee had been reprimanded, NBC News reports.

• The remark drew swift pushback from both parties, with GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York calling it an "absolutely idiotic statement to make." "Homosexuality exists. In America," Lawler wrote on X. "In fact Andy, you have family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and constituents who are gay and lesbian. It doesn't make them less than or somehow unworthy of being an American."

GOP Sen. Ted Cruz told TMZ that gay people have always been part of humanity. "I'm quite libertarian by nature," he said. "I think the behavior of consenting adults is their business." House Majority Leader Steve Scalise labeled the post "reprehensible" and "inappropriate." Scalise noted that Ogles had retracted it. "He himself said he didn't post it, and that he's taking action to reprimand people who did, so it should have never put up."

• Lawler said he was glad the post had been taken down, but added that Ogles should "do better." He said Ogles should focus on "real issues" and "stop denigrating somebody just because you may disagree with who they are or their lifestyle. The fact is, this is what makes America great. You go to another part of the world, and people are killed for being gay. So, to me, that kind of crap just has no place in politics."

• Asked about the post on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said it was "untoward" and taking it down was the right move, the Hill reports. He said the "Bible is unequivocal." "We're supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves, everybody," Johnson said. "We're supposed to treat every single person with dignity and respect, whether we agree with them or not."
• After Ogles posted in March that "Muslims don't belong in American society," Johnson didn't criticize him directly but said he had spoken to the lawmaker about "our tone and our message."