Texas State Representative James Talarico (D), who like his fellow Democrats in Congress has been advocating for an extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies, criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for pushing a GOP plan that does not include an extension.
[Note: Talarico is running in the 2026 U.S. Senate race in Texas for the seat held by incumbent four-term Republican Senator John Cornyn, who is also being challenged by MAGA-aligned Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Talarico is a long shot: Republicans have won every U.S. Senate election in Texas since 1990, and an incumbent senator has not lost a primary since 1970.]
As seen in the video below, Talarico said: “It makes me sick to my stomach to see self-proclaimed Christians in the halls of power blatantly violating the teachings of Jesus Christ.”
He added, “Speaker Mike Johnson, who said his entire worldview comes from the Bible, is literally about to kick two million Texans off their healthcare right before Christmas.”
Speaker Mike Johnson says his entire worldview comes from the Bible.
But he’s about to kick 2 million Texans off their healthcare right before Christmas.
If you aren’t loving your neighbor, then keep Jesus’ name out of your mouth. pic.twitter.com/NHvWdZilOi
— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) December 19, 2025
He added, “These Christian nationalists say they want a Christian nation until it comes to providing healthcare for the sick, until it comes to acting like Jesus. As Christians, Mike Johnson and I are both supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves…If you aren’t loving your neighbor, then keep Jesus’ name out of your mouth.”
Talarico’s speech is not being received positively by everyone on social media. Former Texas State Representative Shawn Thierry replied to Talarico: “Scripture calls on us to confess the name of Jesus openly. Telling others to keep ‘His name out of their mouth’ for political jabs directly contradicts the Christianity you also profess to believe in.”
(Thierry, a former Catholic and practicing Southern Baptist, was elected to the Texas House as a Democrat, lost her re-election bid in May 2024, and then switched to the Republican Party.)