Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said in a statement today that he had called Kentucky clerk Kim Davis to congratulate her for her “courage and humility” in defying the Supreme Court’s decision on marriage equality.

Huckabee’s stance doesn’t come as a surprise, as the former Arkansas governor has said that gay people can never be truly married and called the Supreme Court’s gay marriage ruling illegitimate. Huckabee even signed a pledge vowing to defy the court on marriage, a pledge coincidentally authored by Davis’ attorney, Liberty Counsel head Mat Staver.

“Because Congress has made no law allowing for same sex marriage, Kim does not have the constitutional authority to issue a marriage license to homosexual couples,” Huckabee said in the statement, before applauding her for refusing to bow “to the false God of judicial supremacy” and defending herself against “Washington elites who have nothing but disdain for us, our faith and Constitution.”

Another presidential candidate, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said that Davis’ decision to break the law is “part of the American way.” Shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision, Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., said that clerks in his state should be allowed to deny marriage licenses to gay couples if it conflicts with their personal beliefs, even though in 2009 the governor tried to fire a local official after he denied a marriage license to an interracial couple after citing personal objections to interracial marriage.