And how it could affect his speakership.
House Speaker Mike Johnson successfully pushed through a major $95 billion foreign aid package on Saturday — but could it ultimately cost him his job? On Saturday, the House passed a series of separate bills to send funds to Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific after months of being stalled by Republican infighting.
Though all of these pieces of legislation passed with bipartisan support, the funding for Ukraine proved to be the most contentious as continued U.S. support for Kyiv remains unpopular among a small, but vocal faction within the GOP ranks. Less than 24 hours after Johnson helped it pass, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who’s part of the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus, vowed to make good on her wish to boot him from power, declaring that “Mike Johnson’s speakership is over.” But political analyst Larry Gerston warns that this move could potentially backfire on the party.
“Ultraconservative Republicans will need to think twice about whether to replace Johnson,” Gerston, who’s a political science professor at San Jose State University, tells Katie Couric Media. “They are largely responsible for the least productive Congress in memory. All the rancor surrounding the replacement of the Speaker will only add to their reputation, which is the last thing they need with an election six and a half months away.”
Amid these threats, here’s a closer look at how Johnson passed the foreign aid package and the unexpected support he’s gotten over it.
Why Johnson changed his mind on Ukraine aid
Johnson’s decision to risk his speakership over the sprawling foreign aid bill marks a remarkable reversal for the Louisiana Republican. As a rank-and-file hardline conservative, Johnson had previously opposed efforts to fund Kyiv’s war effort unless certain demands, like tightening border policies, were met.
But when some of his fellow right-wingers urged him to tie the latest foreign aid package to stringent anti-immigration measures, Johnson refused, saying that he wouldn’t have enough Republican support to advance such a measure.
Johnson also attributed his attributed his change of heart, at least in part, to the intelligence briefings he received on Ukraine — as he carefully weighed whether the House would take up funding legislation, he met with national security officials, including CIA director William Burns. His son’s recent acceptance into the Naval Academy seems to have also influenced his decision — “To put it bluntly, I would rather send bullets to Ukraine than American boys,” he said. “My son is gonna begin in the Naval Academy this fall, this is a live-fire exercise for me as it is so many American families. This is not a game. It’s not a joke. We can’t play politics with this, we have to do the right thing.”
In the end, Johnson couldn’t justify leaving Ukraine to fend for itself as it loses ground against the Russian invasion, and he started working with Democrats to clear the way for aid. GOP Rep. Michael McCaul, who’s the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, recalled Johnson telling him that he wanted “to be on the right side of history.”
Of course, Johnson’s decision to advance the foreign aid package rankled far-right conservatives who immediately threatened to oust him, but he remained defiant. “This is a critical time right now,” he told reporters at the Capitol last week. “I could make a selfish decision and do something that’s different. But I’m doing here what I believe to be the right thing. I think providing lethal aid to Ukraine right now is critically important.”
Will Speaker Mike Johnson be removed as speaker?
Johnson’s support for the package sparked a fresh wave of fury among hard-liners, who saw his actions as a betrayal. Greene, who’s leading the charge to oust Johnson, has promised that more Republicans would rally to her side.
In the lead-up to the vote on the foreign aid package, Republican Reps. Paul Gosar and Thomas Massie signed on to Greene’s “motion to vacate,” and their three votes would be enough to remove Johnson as speaker if all Democrats vote against him. Amid this revolt, Johnson said he wouldn’t change the rules for ousting speakers because he doesn’t have the majority necessary to approve it in the first place.
So far, it’s unclear if or even when this motion would come down — the House is now in recess until the end of April, and Greene didn’t motion to vacate the chair before the chamber adjourned because she wants the party to hear from Republican voters.
This latest gambit to oust the speaker has drawn criticism from others within the party, including GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales. “These fringe people think they have the high ground. They do not,” he told CNN on Sunday.
There also appears to be enough support from Democrats to block Greene’s efforts if she moves forward with them. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna told ABC’s “This Week” that he would vote to table a motion to vacate through the end of this Congress and predicted that a “few progressive Democrats” would vote to save him. “He [Speaker Mike Johnson] did the right thing here and he deserves to keep his job to the end of this term,” Khanna said.
Republican strategist Rob Stutzman predicts that there will be a motion to vacate the speakership, but he doesn’t think it’ll ultimately be successful. “The House of Representatives this weekend achieved great bipartisan success and demonstrated it can govern,” he tells Katie Couric Media. “A few malcontent GOP arsonists might object but I think for the vast majority of the members they are relieved. I don’t think Democrats will let Marjorie Taylor Greene and a few other nut jobs jeopardize this progress and will protect Johnson.”
While Johnson’s political future remains a little on the shakey side, his gamble appears to have paid off as the foreign aid package heads to the Democratic-majority Senate, where it’s expected to pass and then be signed into law by President Biden.
