'Moral bankruptcy': House speaker dismisses claim GOP rep beat girlfriend as not 'serious'

When asked for comment on the news that Florida Republican Congressman Cory Mills was ordered by a judge to stay away from his ex-girlfriend who accused Mills of assaulting her, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson's (R-LA) reply set off a firestorm on social media.

Meidas Touch senior digital editor Acyn Torabi posted clip on his X account of a press conference at which a reporter asked Johnson, "It’s been reported that Cory Mills was accused of beating a girlfriend… accused of stolen valor. Are you concerned?"

Johnson replied, "Let’s just talk about the things that are really serious."

The charges against Mills are serious. The Florida Republican had been dating Lindsey Langston, the reigning Miss United States and a Republican state committeewoman in Florida, until she broke off the relationship when she became aware of another of his exes accusing him of assault in Washington D.C.

Both Mills and the woman denied that any assault took place, and Mills was not charged in the incident, but Langston said she feared for her safety and that Mills threatened to share nude photos and videos with others, and allegedly threatened her future boyfriends.

Now a judge has issued a restraining order for Mills to stay away from Langston, supporting her "assertion that Mills had caused her 'substantial emotional distress' and that Mills offered 'no credible rebuttal' to her testimony," Politico reports.

Johnson's downplaying of this set off social media users who wasted no time in calling him out.

"Leave it to the GOP to protect predators," wrote X user The Great Gig in the Sky.

ChetterHub wrote on X, "calling assault and stolen valor 'not serious' is a masterclass in moral bankruptcy."

"I guess beating your girlfriend is not concerning to a Christian man?" wrote Dennison Barb on X.

ForeverBlessed wondered, "Beating women isn't a 'really serious' matter to you? ... You'd be foaming at the mouth if Mills was a Democrat."

HJN remarked on X, "If he doesn’t care about one of his colleagues beating up his girlfriend why would he care about the victims in the Epstein files."

Secretariat O'War had their own headline to offer, writing on X, "Breaking — Speaker Johnson says domestic violence and stolen valor are not 'serious'."

Allegations of "stolen valor" against Mills first surfaced in 2024 and expanded in 2025, with multiple veterans who served with Mills contradicting his claims of battlefield heroics, specifically concerning his Bronze Star award.