Speaker Mike Johnson is facing a defining moment in his political career, less than six months into his tenure. The Louisiana Republican is at a critical juncture where he must decide between upholding traditional US national interests or aligning with the disruptive tactics of his party’s far-right faction. This is a dilemma that his predecessors, Kevin McCarthy, Paul Ryan, and John Boehner, grappled with, ultimately leading to their political downfall.
Johnson is now attempting to pass billions in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, crucial for safeguarding US allies against Russian, Iranian, and Chinese totalitarianism and maintaining US influence. However, this move has put his position at risk, as he faces accusations of betrayal from GOP extremists.
“When you do the right thing, you let the chips fall where they may,” Johnson stated in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. However, his prospects look bleak. His slim majority means he can’t afford to lose more than one GOP vote to pass a bill on a party-line vote. And two hardliners, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, are threatening to call a vote to oust him if he puts the Ukraine bill on the floor.
Schism in GOP could drive Johnson out
The GOP divide underscores how Trump’s “America First” doctrine has eroded the party’s internationalist principles. Lawmakers like Greene and Texas Rep. Chip Roy argue that there is no greater US interest than protecting the southern border, following high levels of undocumented migrant crossings in recent months.
Johnson’s increasing vulnerability on this issue is particularly acute since he was also arguing for months that there could be no Ukraine aid without using the same measure to force the White House to introduce stringent measures at the US border with Mexico.
Rising right-wing opposition to his foreign aid plans has left Johnson in a precarious position. To even pass a rule to set up a series of votes on the bills this weekend, Johnson is almost certain to need Democratic votes. The minority party may also have to save him if Greene calls up her motion to vacate the speaker’s chair – a step several Democrats say they are prepared to take to ensure that Ukraine aid will pass at a moment when Kyiv warns it will lose its war of survival without urgent help.
Johnson’s tonal shift on Ukraine
One of the most intriguing aspects of Johnson’s new strategy is his forceful argument about the need for the US to send billions of dollars in aid to its allies. As a backbencher, Johnson voted against sending more funds to Ukraine several times and he’s been careful in his six months as speaker not to get too far ahead of GOP critics of bankrolling Kyiv’s war effort.
But on Wednesday, he was making the kind of foreign policy argument that could have been voiced by any GOP leader from President Dwight Eisenhower to President George W. Bush – one that was a clear departure from Trumpism.
“We are going to stand by Israel, our close ally and dear friend, and we’re going to stand for freedom and make sure that Vladimir Putin doesn’t march through Europe. These are important responsibilities,” Johnson told Tapper. “Since World War II, really, the responsibility for the free world has been shifted onto our shoulders. And we accept that role. We’re an exceptional nation.”
Johnson added: “We’re the greatest nation on the planet, and we have to act like it. And we have to project to Putin and Xi and Iran and North Korea and anybody else that we will defend freedom.”
Conclusion
If Johnson can somehow engineer passage of the bills aiding Israel and Ukraine this weekend, he’d be bolstering a global leadership role the US played for decades. It’s a measure of how much the GOP has changed that such a role might be considered political apostasy and could cost him his job. But he told reporters on Wednesday evening, while making the case that military aid for Ukraine was now critical, “I’m doing here what I believe to be the right thing.”
“History judges us for what we do.”