CNN
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Republican Chairman Mike Johnson on Saturday demonstrated political courage rare in Washington and remarkable legislative skill for an inexperienced leader in pushing a long-delayed $60 billion Ukraine aid bill through the House. Indicated.
Mr. Johnson put his job at extreme risk to defend democracies that were victims of unprovoked aggression by Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and to strengthen America’s leadership in the West. There is. His actions could save the lives of thousands of Ukrainians, even as Russia’s resolve to win a bloody war targeting civilians shows no signs of fading.
Mr Johnson’s support for the bill follows a period of self-examination and an unusual political development in a hyperpolarized Capitol Hill. One of his senior colleagues in the House said this “transformation” included the prayers of devout Louisiana hardline conservatives who expressed a desire to be on the right side of history.
After months of bitter infighting that has divided the Republican Party, Mr. Johnson’s test passage of the bill in the House of Representatives puts him on the side of the party’s waning internationalist Ronald Reagan wing. , turned his back on the “America First” faction that had previously been his political stronghold. .
Mr. Johnson argued that if the United States did not maintain a lifeline of arms and ammunition to Ukraine, Russia could emerge victorious and advance deeper into Europe, drawing the United States into a new world war. He said failure to act would strengthen the emerging de facto axis of totalitarianism between Russia, Iran and China. Two other bills that Johnson passed through the House of Commons in an unusual Saturday session also send new aid to Israel and Taiwan and strengthen key U.S. national security objectives in two other global hotspots. Thing. Mr. Johnson’s decision also preserves and extends a central tenet of President Joe Biden’s foreign policy within seven months of his re-election. Secret conferences by US secret agencies appear to have played a major role in his change of thinking, with the “Make America Great Again” Republican Party viewing intelligence agencies as a “deep state” targeting former President Donald Trump. This is another factor likely to infuriate members.
But Mr Johnson insisted the international situation was so serious that the House had no choice, warning that Russia, China and Iran were “global threats to our prosperity and security”. Their advances threaten the free world, and American leadership is needed. If we turn away now, the consequences could be catastrophic. ”
01:02 – Source: CNN
Cheers and explosions continue after Ukraine aid bill passes House of Representatives
The significance of this remarkable event on the charged floor of the House of Representatives comes after months of warnings that the war could be lost if tens of billions of dollars worth of U.S. aid is already exhausted. This was highlighted by a message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. “I am grateful to the United States House of Representatives, both parties, and Speaker Mike Johnson personally for the decision that put history on the right track,” he said on his Telegram channel. “Democracy and freedom will always be of global importance and will never fail as long as the United States helps protect democracy and freedom.”
CNN’s Frederick Preitgen reported Saturday from Ukraine that U.S. aid could soon start pouring into the country, assuming the Senate signs the bill as expected. Zelenskiy’s forces especially need anti-aircraft missiles and new air defense systems to counter Russia’s expanding air superiority and attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure targets. Meanwhile, Ukrainian soldiers fighting in harsh trench warfare conditions are being given rations of bullets and artillery. The House vote would also provide a much-needed morale boost as the brutal war has turned against Ukraine in recent months.
But Johnson’s actions represented a flagrant challenge to the Republican Party’s populist base, which is adamantly opposed to further aid to Ukraine. Closer to Putin than Zelensky. And they see America’s traditional leadership toward the West as supporting globalist policies that are contrary to America’s national interests. This bond of opinion is highly influential within the Republican Party and has been exploited for years by Republican presidential candidate Trump. A majority of 112 Republicans in the chamber voted against the Ukraine bill. Millions of Americans implored Johnson not to abandon Ukraine; former president says America’s allies are freeloading from the defense umbrella and America should take a narrower view of its international obligations share a worldview. They do not believe that Ukraine is America’s battle and warn that standing up to Russia could lead to World War III.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also increasingly vulnerable. In passing the Ukraine bill, he rejected demands from right-wing Republicans to use the aid as a lever to force the Biden administration to adopt tougher policies on the U.S.-Mexico border. However, in this respect he found himself vulnerable on his own side. The president had previously agreed to many of the Republican demands in his most conservative immigration bill in years, but Trump’s allies in the House of Representatives killed the bill, which the former president saw as a path back. It appears that Trump was trying to deprive Biden of victory on the issue. To the White House. Combined with Saturday’s use of Democratic votes to pass the Ukraine bill, the move, which deprived Mr. Johnson of a key policy victory from his slim majority, is a complete setback for a Republican party at war with itself. It reflects confusion. Democrats waved Ukrainian flags on the House floor, a scene that has already gone viral on social media among conservatives and was quickly condemned by Speaker Johnson.
01:34 – Source: CNN
Marjorie Taylor Greene attacks Mike Johnson minutes after Ukraine aid bill passes
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a fierce opponent of funding the Ukraine war, warned after the vote that Johnson was a “lame duck,” but Johnson would stop the Ukraine war. failed to trigger a vote on Johnson’s ouster. invoice. Mr Green accused Mr Johnson of funding what he called America’s “murder industry” by supporting foreign wars, warning him it was “unbelievable”. I’m grateful that America gets to know who this man is. ”
The Georgia hardliner is one of at least three Republicans who have said they support a move to oust Johnson. Mr. Johnson has such a small majority that he cannot afford to lose any Republicans on partisan votes and will likely need support from Democrats to remain. speaker.
Greene said she expected outrage among grassroots Republicans as lawmakers headed home for a brief recess after Johnson also helped pass a major spending bill to fund the government. As expected, Greene says this is a betrayal of Republican voters. Her analysis may be correct, and the gradual buildup of pressure may represent Mr Johnson’s greatest weakness.
Still, there were signs that even among Republicans disappointed with Mr. Johnson, they did not want another debacle likely to ensue with the search for a new speaker so close to an election. If Mr Johnson has read the mood of these MPs correctly, most observers have expected him to do so after he was elevated from the backbench to Speaker almost as a last resort after the failure of a high-profile figure in October. There is a possibility that they will survive by demonstrating political skills that they did not have before. He gained a majority after the firing of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. However, even if the Republicans win in November, it still seems unlikely that he will remain in the post. Nevertheless, by handing aid to Israel and Ukraine, Johnson is appealing to vulnerable freshman Republicans in battleground districts whose victory in the 2022 midterm elections paved the way for the party to take control of the House. It may have been helpful. One of their supporters, Rep. Mark Molinaro of New York, told CNN’s Manu Raju after speaking to constituents: ”
One of the more interesting questions on Saturday was Trump’s position. He is a longtime opponent of Mr. Zelensky and a mentor to Mr. Greene, who pressured Kyiv to investigate Mr. Biden and led to Mr. Trump’s first impeachment. Mr. Johnson recently traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet Mr. Trump and endorsed the former president’s false claims about election fraud, apparently in an effort to strengthen his own position. The former president has long been friendly to Putin, but remained on the sidelines during the Ukraine controversy. It remains unclear whether he was trying to preserve his options in case he becomes the next commander-in-chief and wants to follow through on his vow to end the war in Ukraine. Or perhaps Mr. Trump was preoccupied with his own political goals and his first criminal trial, which is set to begin arguments Monday.
Amid Republican uproar following Saturday’s vote, Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Greene and her allies had tried to unseat Johnson with a maneuver known as a motion to resign. The party declined to say whether it would support Mr Johnson in that case. Even if Democrats were to keep Johnson in exchange for passing the aid bill, a key priority for Biden, efforts to keep him in office for the long term seem unlikely. The speaker may be the most conservative person to hold the office in modern U.S. history, and many Democrats despise his efforts to spread President Trump’s falsehoods of election fraud. are doing. And a Republican chairman backed by Democrats could lose the support of Republican lawmakers and be forced to resign.
But there was some reluctant support for the speaker among some Democrats. Rep. Mike Quigley, co-chair of the Ukraine parliamentary group, was asked if he had a newfound respect for Mr. Johnson. “I think so,” the Illinois Democrat said. “The old adage is ‘It’s never too late to do the right thing.’ We put it to the test,” Quigley added. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised Johnson and Jeffries, saying, “We know it’s been a difficult road, but the House is on the right side of history by approving this bill.”
America’s enemies, including President Vladimir Putin, were betting that America’s political divisions, exacerbated by past Russian election interference, would make America unable to defend its traditional interests on the world stage. But Johnson put those assumptions on hold, even though the long-term prospects for continued U.S. aid to Ukraine and Western traditional leaders are bleak if President Trump wins in November.
But House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-Texas), who previously said Johnson had been praying for guidance, said he had shown true leadership. . “He said, ‘I want to be on the right side of history.'” And I think he will be, too. And I think his actions, again, he put the country before himself, are the true picture of courage. ”
As the debate over aid for Ukraine reaches its peak, McCall draws parallels between the US attitude towards Putin and Britain’s appeasement of Nazi Germany under one prime minister and his successor’s determined resistance. Ta. “As you deliberate on this vote, you must ask yourself: Am I Chamberlain or am I Churchill?” he said.
Churchill is an unlikely figure in a serendipitous speech, but on Saturday he proved to be a much bolder and more substantive figure than many of his Republican and Democratic critics had previously believed.
