It is said that politics makes strange bedfellows, and this truism is apparent as Democrats line up to support House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). He of course spearheaded the controversial $60 billion Ukraine aid package that cleared the House on Saturday.
Every Democrat in the lower chamber voted in favor of the enormous expenditure, while Republican lawmakers were mostly split on its merits.
So, it should not be surprising that the left lined up to protect Johnson as angry conservatives demanded his ouster. Among the liberals who are suddenly fans of the Speaker is Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who expressed his support for the GOP leader.
Khanna appeared on ABC’s “This Week” with host Jonathan Karl. He asked the California Democrat if Johnson deserved accolades for the House deal despite ignoring the calamity that is the southern border.
He replied, “He does. Look, we came into Congress together and he always cared about civility. He actually led the civility pledge. And he — we had one issue, which was to give individual votes. Don’t lump things together. And I give him credit for doing this.”
He is spot on!! Sen. Rand Paul on Speaker Johnson: "As I see it now, I'm not sure there's a difference between Mike Johnson being in charge and the Democrats being in charge."#Uniparty pic.twitter.com/15JDkZ4a4m
— 🇺🇸Kimmie🇺🇸 (@kimmagagal2) April 14, 2024
Khanna added that he would vote to table any motion to vacate Johnson. This apparently is the position of a sizable number of House Democrats, which would likely spell doom for any effort to vacate the Speaker.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) told “Fox News Sunday” that pushing Johnson out of his role would be a positive signal for Russia and Iran.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) filed a motion earlier in April to oust Johnson if he continued to lobby for yet more taxpayer dollars to go to Ukraine. He was ultimately successful with Saturday’s contentious vote sending billions more to Kyiv.
This, of course, aligned with President Joe Biden and House Democrats.
Greene told Fox News on Sunday that she has not wavered in her opposition to Johnson’s actions. She blasted the Speaker for “absolutely working for the Democrats.”
When asked if she will file another motion to oust the Louisiana Republican, Greene replied, “It’s coming regardless of what Mike Johnson decides to do.”
Johnson assumed the Speaker’s gavel after conservative Republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy from that role last year. Unlike Johnson, the California representative did not enjoy support from the left side of the aisle.
