By With the Republican majority soon to be down to one vote, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson may soon have to decide whether or not funding Ukraine in its war with Russia is worth keeping his job.
Two weeks ago, New Conservative Post noted that the relatively new Speaker of the House was facing an effort to remove him from leading the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who filed a motion to vacate. She said her move was “more of a warning than a pink slip” in regards to funding aid to Ukraine.
Johnson, a House member from Louisiana, was elected Speaker of the House in October 2023.
Now, some of the Speaker’s closest allies are admitting the reality they face, including Republican Rep. Don Bacon from Nebraska, a member of the House Armed Service Committee, wrote The Washington Examiner.
When asked on NBC’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker on Sunday, Bacon said it was “possible” Johnson could lose his position over the issue.
“It’s possible. I’m not going to deny it. We have one or two people that are not team players,” Bacon said.
“They’d rather enjoy the limelight and social media. The fact is with a one-seat majority, and we’ll end up with a three- or four-seat majority with some special elections, but that’s out of 435 people. It’s a very narrow majority, and one or two people can make us a minority,” Bacon added.
Asked what he thought about Marjorie Taylor Greene’s latest move to oust the Speaker of the House again, Bacon said he thinks House Republicans should “work with the team” and claimed he doesn’t need to get 100% of what he wants in legislation.
“We have some people that if they don’t get 100%, they want to bring the House down, and it makes us dysfunctional,” Bacon said. “So that’s [Speaker Johnson losing his position] a possibility.”
WATCH: Some Republicans oppose Speaker Johnson putting a Ukraine aid up for a vote.@kwelkernbc: “Do you think he could lose his speakership over this?”
Rep. @DonJBacon (R-Neb.): “It possible. I’m not going to deny it. We have one or two people that are not team players.” pic.twitter.com/WWfaDwKrje
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 31, 2024
Russia hawks are pretty confident about money going to Ukraine being a priority of Congress when they return following Easter break.
“Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) also conveyed confidence Sunday that the House will take up a supplemental for Kyiv.
‘I have spoken to [Johnson] directly. I’m not going to delve into the details of that conversation. But I am confident that he is going to bring a bill to the floor,’ he told CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ Sunday.
Johnson spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week to affirm his support for the war-torn ally as it seeks to fend off Russian invaders.
The speaker previously teased that he wanted to deal with the Ukraine matter after finishing off the appropriations process for fiscal year 2024, which wrapped up earlier this month,” according to The New York Post.
CNN reported that “Democrats have signaled they may be willing to save Johnson if he moves a Ukraine aid bill they can support,” but one including strong restrictions to the hundreds of thousands entering the southern border illegally would fall “outside their demands.”
The Council on Foreign Relations has documented that “since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has become far and away the top recipient of U.S. foreign aid. This marks the first time that a European country has held the top spot since the Harry S. Truman administration directed vast sums into rebuilding the continent through the Marshall Plan after World War II.
The Joe Biden administration and the U.S. Congress have directed about $75 billion in assistance to Ukraine, which includes humanitarian, financial, and military support, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research institute. (This figure does not include all war-related U.S. spending, such as aid to allies.) The historic sums are helping a broad set of Ukrainian people and institutions, including refugees, law enforcement, and independent radio broadcasters, though most of the aid has been military-related. Dozens of other countries, including most members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU), are also providing large aid packages to Ukraine.”
[Read More: Biden Disgraces Himself]
