Speaker Mike Johnson faces critical decision on Ukraine aid

CNN
 — 

Speaker Mike Johnson is facing international criticism over his lack of swift action on Ukraine aid, which is ratcheting up pressure to make a critical decision that will not only have massive implications for his rookie speakership but also for Ukraine’s ongoing war effort against Russia.

So far, Johnson has resisted calls to bring a Senate-passed aid package up for a quick vote – a move that would require Democratic support and almost certainly spark a revolt from his right flank, something Johnson is eager to avoid. The speaker has said the legislation, which includes over $60 billion in assistance for Ukraine, would not pass in its current form, and privately told Republicans during a closed-door meeting last week there is “no rush” to address the issue, with Congress since having left town for a nearly two-week recess.

The stakes of the high-profile debate – and Johnson’s pivotal role in a legislative response – came into even greater focus over the weekend. Global leaders gathered at the annual Munich Security Conference just as news broke that Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny had died in prison, while Ukraine suffered a significant setback to Russian forces on the battlefield – twin developments that have injected a new sense of urgency for Congress to act as the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches this weekend and as the Ukrainian military warns it is running out of resources to resist.

While there is a contingent of House Republicans who support additional Ukraine aid and it has majority support from the chamber as a whole, Johnson has to manage a rambunctious right-flank that is deeply resistant to additional aid – including some who have threatened his job would suffer a similar fate as ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy if he puts a standalone bill on the floor. And further complicating matters, the Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has also injected himself into the debate, urging Republicans to oppose Ukraine funding and continuing to rail against NATO.

Some GOP lawmakers like Sen. J.D. Vance echoed Trump’s rhetoric arguing no more support should be given, while others are offering bipartisan solutions in the absence of a clear path forward. But it is unclear where Johnson — who is caught in the middle of the competing wings of his party — stands, even amid fresh warnings over the weekend about the direness of the situation.

“I think many of us understand the plans that are out there,” one GOP lawmaker, granted the condition of anonymity to speak freely, told CNN.  “If there is a Mike Johnson plan, there aren’t any House Republicans that are aware of its existence.”

The pressure cooker Johnson is facing has exposed some frustration over how he has approached his speakership. At a time when House Republicans are looking to their leader to make a decisive choice, the speaker has instead elevated members to bring forward their own ideas without articulating his own preferences.

“When the chips are down in the fourth quarter, every team needs somebody who calls the play in the huddle,” the GOP lawmaker added. “Not everybody gets to bring a play and have it equally debated in the closing moments of a close game. You need a captain. Mike Johnson is our captain and it’s time for him to call the play.”

GOP Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio, a member of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, warned Johnson would be risking his job if he puts the Senate’s foreign aid bill on the House floor – a sign of the conundrum the speaker is in.

“He would need Democrats to hold on to the gavel at that point,” Davidson told CNN. “Multiple of my colleagues have already promised that. I believe that it’s not an empty threat.”

As Ukraine funding languishes in the House, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said there were “lots of conversations” in Munich about the importance of the United States’ commitment to Ukraine, while Sen. Ben Cardin, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relation Committee, said the sense of urgency was only underscored by Navalny’s death.

“I hope it moves the needle. We shouldn’t need anything to move the needle. We got to get it done,” Cardin said. “Ukraine is in desperate need of the US aid, passed by an overwhelming bipartisan vote on the floor of the…