Ukraine aid likely to spark mutiny against Speaker Johnson, could force him out, GOP rep says
Speaker Mike Johnson is “committed” to bringing Ukraine aid to the House floor — even though it is likely to spark a mutiny within his caucus and could potentially cost him his job, a GOP congressman said.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) expressed optimism that Democrats will throw Johnson a lifeline to secure additional funding for Ukraine’s fight against Russia.
“[Johnson’s] committed to making this the top priority when we return back to Washington, DC,” Bacon told “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
However, he acknowledged that the move will likely spark a fight to oust the Louisiana Republican — who has a wafer-thin majority.
“We have some people that if they don’t get 100%, want to bring the house down, and it makes us dysfunctional,” Bacon, one of the more moderate Republicans in the House, complained.
“It is very likely that after this Ukraine bill, we may have a standoff with the speaker.”
When Bacon was asked whether the fight could lead to Johnson being voted out as Speaker, Bacon responded: “It’s possible, I’m not going to deny it.”
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.
Right as the House of Representatives was finishing up appropriations for fiscal year 2024 — something it did six months late — firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) introduced a motion to vacate the chair as a “warning” against him.
That resolution was not privileged, and therefore, did not require a vote.
She has publicly threatened to oust him if he brought up aid to Ukraine for a floor vote. Given the GOP’s soon-to-be 217 to 213 majority when Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) departs next month, Johnson has little wiggle room to stave off a mutiny.
Bacon said he does not believe Greene’s move will ultimately be successful.
“I do think there’ll be Democrats though, who do not want to see this dysfunction. And I think they’ll probably vote present or maybe not be there for a vote,” he added. “I hope the speaker prevails. He’s doing the right thing. It’s in our national security interest that Ukraine remain independent.”
Back in October, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and a gang of seven other House Republican rouble-rousers banded together with a solid bloc of Democrats to depose then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)
That came in response to McCarthy’s push for a spending patch to avert a government shutdown. Greene backed McCarthy in that flap.
This go-around, Gaetz has been cautious about dethroning Johnson, fearing that such a move could toss the lower chamber to the Democrats, despite his opposition to Ukraine aid.
Several Democrats have publicly suggested they’d save Johnson in the event of a mutiny, particularly if it’s over Ukraine. In contrast to Johnson, McCarthy had a particularly acrimonious relationship with House Democrats.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) dangled that possibility on Sunday.
“I would consider it under two conditions. One, we get the aid into Ukraine, so we stand up to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin,” Khanna told “Fox News Sunday.”
“And two, let’s get the $600 million to rebuild the bridge in Baltimore.”
President Biden had requested Congress re-up aid to Ukraine last August, but the lower chamber has been dragging its feet for months.
Last month, the Senate passed a $95 billion supplemental package, featuring some $60 billion for Ukraine, which is currently facing setbacks on the battlefield amid munition shortages.
Bacon has backed a smaller $66 billion alternative package and wanted the Biden administration to provide Ukraine with much more advanced weaponry.
The Nebraskan also anticipates that some of the aid will take the form of a loan and will likely comprise of mostly military aid, instead of humanitarian support.
“The President has not given them long-range, ATACMs [Advanced Rocket Missile Technology]. He’s been providing weapons that provide a stalemate in Ukraine. Why not give Ukraine the weapons that are higher tech,” Bacon pondered.
“We want to force the president’s hand on the kinds of weapons that we will provide.”
Congress is set to gavel back into session on April 9.
