CNN
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It took less than six months for Speaker Mike Johnson to have his existential moment.
Louisiana Republicans must make a fateful but familiar choice between honoring their traditional vision of America’s national interests and siding with the wrecking ball antics of the party’s far-right bloc. Reached a crossroads.
It’s a choice his immediate predecessors Kevin McCarthy, Paul Ryan and John Boehner have struggled with before. Their refusal to lead the United States into a debt or financial crisis or undermine America’s global role ultimately led to their political oblivion.
Now, Prime Minister Johnson is trying to pass billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, which is essential to protecting U.S. allies from the totalitarianism of Russia, Iran, and China, and preserving U.S. power and prestige. However, he must risk his job to fight back. Republican extremists have accused him of betraying his party’s base.
“If you do the right thing, the gavel can drop anywhere,” Johnson said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Wednesday, ahead of a critical three days that will determine whether he can hang on to the gavel. He spoke at
Prospects look grim for this new speaker. His slim majority means he cannot afford to lose multiple Republican votes to pass the bill on a party-line vote. Two other hardliners, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, have also threatened to vote to remove him from office if the Ukraine bill passes. .
Other right-wing Republicans have warned that Mr. Johnson is seeking a new, tougher immigration compromise, even though the party destroyed the most conservative immigration compromise in decades at the behest of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. It has warned that $60 billion in aid to Ukraine would have to be provided conditional on border security measures.
The divisions within the Republican Party highlight how Trump has eroded the party’s internationalist principles in favor of an “America first” credo. Rep. Greene, Texas Rep. Chip Roy and others have warned that there is no greater U.S. interest than securing the southern border in the wake of the large number of illegal immigrant crossings in recent months. refutes the argument.
Mr Roy has not yet decided whether to support Mr Johnson’s ouster, but told CNN on Wednesday that he was “disappointed” with the speaker and said it was “past the point for a reprieve”. The move comes as Prime Minister Johnson has argued for months that there could be no aid to Ukraine without taking the same steps to force the White House to introduce tough measures on the border with Mexico. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s increasing vulnerability on the issue is particularly acute.
The growing right-wing opposition to Mr Johnson’s foreign aid plans has left him in a very vulnerable position. Mr. Johnson almost certainly needs Democratic votes to pass rules that would phase in a series of votes this weekend. The minority party may also have to come to Greene’s rescue if she makes a motion to vacate her chair. This is a step that several Democrats say they are prepared to take to ensure aid to Ukraine passes the moment Kiev threatens to lose the war. You can survive without urgent help. That might save Johnson in the short term. But the Republican chairman, who depends on Democratic votes and is seen by many Republicans as a pawn of the minority party, will be left speaking on borrowed time.
Mr. Johnson’s problem is a more extreme version of one that has plagued Republicans for years. A powerful but small group of right-wing Republicans, elected on an absolutist platform in a deep red district, have come to Washington with a wide range of policies and are adamant that they will not compromise with Democrats. But except in rare moments when Republicans monopolize power in Washington, they lack the power and numbers to enforce their will. Disgruntled extremists accuse Republican leaders of turning traitors simply because they live in the land of political reality.
For example, Greene told CNN’s Manu Raju on Wednesday, “I don’t know how much people will tolerate this because all he does is serve the Democratic Party.”
Mr. Johnson, who is perhaps the most conservative speaker in history but faces claims that he has sold out, tried to explain his limitations in the interview with Mr. Tapper. “Republicans run the House. We have a minimal majority in the House. Democrats are in charge of the Senate and the White House. So by definition we have everything we want. I can’t get in,” he said.
But the idea that the party should settle for anything other than absolutist positions doesn’t hold water in the modern Republican Party, where stunt politics, which plays well in conservative media, is as important as legislation. “Some members of Congress prefer being in the minority,” Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw, who supports sending new aid to Ukraine, told CNN’s Raju. “It’s easier that way, you don’t have to actually work because you can always just be against something.”
The speaker bought time by visiting Mar-a-Lago last week to strengthen President Trump’s false claims of election fraud and secure the strongest public support a former president would give in return. It seemed like President Trump said Johnson was “doing a very good job.” Logically, the presumptive Republican nominee would suggest he is interested in delaying the third GOP chairman-choice debacle since Republicans won a majority in the 2022 midterm elections. ing. That could be a distraction from his own campaign to take back the White House. But Greene, one of President Trump’s strongest supporters, has not ignored his suggestions and is still determined to bring Johnson down. This speaker might be wise not to trust Trump. Loyalty to others is a fungible commodity for former presidents. When President Trump determines that a colleague is vulnerable or no longer serves his political interests, he typically lets them go.
Johnson’s insistence that the foreign aid bill be debated separately, ahead of any attempt to send it to the House of Lords in one piece (a move that also infuriates hardliners), might be a logical solution in a regular House of Commons. unknown. This way, those who oppose aid to Ukraine in principle can vote against it, and Democrats who support it can ensure it passes. Days after the Iranian airstrike, there could be a strong bipartisan vote to support Israel and support Taiwan, which has become increasingly vulnerable to China’s massive military buildup. And Republicans could cover by voting in favor of a bill separate from Johnson’s planned border security bill. But the extreme polarization of the Republican majority and Johnson’s lack of maneuverability after the 2022 midterm elections failed to deliver a “red wave” have left individual MPs confused. It provides an opportunity to cause a crisis, making governance nearly impossible.
On Wednesday night, for example, the House Rules Committee adjourned after failing to pass rules on the border security bill after Johnson lost again, and Republicans threatened to vote against the bill in committee.
One of the most interesting aspects of Johnson’s new strategy is his insistence on the need for the United States to send billions of dollars in aid to its allies. (Some economic aid to Ukraine was converted into loans to appease some Republicans). As a sponsor, Mr. Johnson has repeatedly voted against sending additional funds to Ukraine, and during his six months as chairman he has tried not to get too ahead of Republican critics of Kiev’s war funding. I’ve been careful.
But on Wednesday, he made the kind of foreign policy argument that any Republican leader from President Dwight Eisenhower to President George W. Bush could make, a clear departure from Trumpism. was.
“We’re going to stand by our close ally and dear friend Israel, we’re going to defend freedom, and we’re going to make sure Vladimir Putin doesn’t march through Europe. These are important responsibilities,” Johnson told Tapper. told. “After World War II, the responsibility for the free world has actually been placed on our shoulders. And we accept that role. We are an exceptional nation.”
Mr Johnson added: “We are the greatest nation on earth and we must act as such.” And we have to show Putin, Xi, Iran, North Korea, and everyone else that we will protect freedom. ”
It was not immediately clear what prompted Johnson’s change in emphasis.
The shocking scale of Iran’s missile and drone attacks on Israel last week brought awareness to Capitol Hill about the urgency of replenishing Israel’s arsenal, even though it was largely repelled by U.S., Israeli, British and Jordanian forces. concentrated.
Ukraine’s needs are even more acute. Russia continues its relentless attacks on civilians and infrastructure, and top U.S. defense and intelligence officials have repeatedly warned that Kiev could lose the war without Biden’s much-needed aid package. It’s being served. “I think we’re already seeing the battlefield situation start to shift a little bit in Russia’s favor,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday. The implications of a Russian victory would be significant and create new security threats for Western countries in Europe. And the possibility that the United States would abandon its democratic brethren under attack from the Kremlin’s ruthless leadership would shatter America’s reputation abroad and, as a result, weaken its power. It may be that the speaker does not want it to be tainted as part of his conscience or heritage.
Mr Johnson, unlike other members of the extremists, has the responsibility of being chairman, which is one of the most important national jobs that goes beyond short-term political gain. And he is under relentless pressure not only from the White House but also from foreign leaders. For example, Biden warned in a Wall Street Journal article on Wednesday that “both Ukraine and Israel are under attack by brazen adversaries bent on annihilating them.”
If Prime Minister Johnson manages to get legislation passed this weekend to support Israel and Ukraine, it would strengthen the world leadership role the United States has played for decades. Whether such a role could be seen as political apostasy and cost him his job is a sign of how much the Republican Party has changed.
But he told reporters Wednesday night, “I’m here doing what I believe is the right thing to do,” insisting that military aid to Ukraine is now in crisis.
“History will judge our actions.”
