Like Every Recent GOP House Speaker, Mike Johnson Has Reached His Breaking Point

It appears that House Speaker Mike Johnson is at his breaking point. Like prior Republican leaders in his position, most recently Kevin McCarthy, Johnson was willing to humor the pugilistic members of his caucus for a certain period of time, but he is now at the point where he no longer cares about their threats. He is willing to accept his fate.

This week, Johnson announced that he would allow House votes on aid bills for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Though the bills are likely to be supported by a majority of Republicans and a large majority of the House as a whole, opponents of more aid to Ukraine oppose even a vote on the issue, and they have signaled a willingness to oust Johnson over it. But that threat no longer seems to have the resonance it once did.

“My philosophy is you do the right thing and you let the chips fall where they may,” Johnson said yesterday. “If I operated out of fear of a motion to vacate I would never be able to do my job. Look, history judges us for what we do. This is a critical time right now. A critical time on the world stage. 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, I really do.”

Johnson seems determined to go through with it, which will almost certainly lead to an effort to oust him just as McCarthy was ousted last fall. If he survives, it will be because at least some Democrats join the overwhelming majority of Republicans to defeat a motion to remove him. That would likely keep him safe through the end of the year. What that means for his long-term position within the caucus after the election is another story.