A Republican congressman accused Democrats of a "concerted effort" aimed at leaving "so help you God" out of oaths when swearing in witnesses.

Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson told the USA TODAY Network on Thursday that he believed that Democratic leadership was purposely attempting to strike God from committee hearings, something he says would upset Americans.

Johnson, R-La., confronted House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., on Wednesday after Nadler left off "so help you God" out of an oath to a witness, continuing a skirmish that began last week.

Johnson spoke up and asked to be recognized. "We had a conversation on the floor last week and I just noticed you left off 'so help me God'," Johnson said.

Nadler quickly responded: "I'm sorry; do you want me to repeat the whole ... I will repeat ..."

"I'd love that, thank you," Johnson said, and the oath was repeated with "so help you God" included.

The stage for Wednesday's hearing was set last week when Johnson said he and fellow Louisiana Congressman Garret Graves, another Republican, noticed the phrase had been stricken with a red line in the House Natural Resources Committee.

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Johnson ultimately made a speech on the House floor last week and the language was restored immediately in Natural Resources.

Johnson said he thought that might be the end of it until Wednesday's hearing.

"I believe it has to be a concerted effort by the Democratic leadership," Johnson said in an interview with USA Today Network. "It appears to me to be a strategy by leadership that I believe the vast majority of Americans will oppose once they become aware of it."

The Democrats regained the majority in the House in last fall's election and now control the committees.

Johnson, who is the new chairman of the influential Republican Study Committee, said he sent a message Thursday to his 140 members.

"It can't be true that all of the chairmen are doing it by mistake, so we have to call them out," said Johnson, who said he has been alerted the phrase is being stricken in other committees. "We can't allow a long-cherished tradition to go by the wayside because of political correctness."

Johnson, an evangelical Christian, called the removal of the phrase "absurd."

"It's important to me personally as a Christian, but I'm a constitutional attorney and history buff and this isn't controversial," he said. "Everyone who hears about this should be outraged."

Last week during the initial dust-up Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., also criticized the move to to Fox News.

“It is incredible, but not surprising, that the Democrats would try to remove God from committee proceedings in one of their first acts in the majority," she said, saying the Democrats have "become the party of Karl Marx."

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1