As right-wing hardliners clamor for Mike Johnson’s removal over the passing of a $95 billion foreign-aid package, the embattled speaker seems to have retained one very important ally: former president Donald Trump.
Trump addressed the nascent GOP rebellion — led by Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie — during an interview Monday with radio host Christ Stigall, employing the same defense for Johnson’s actions that the speaker himself has used, namely that he’s navigating an exceedingly narrow GOP majority.
“Remember, the Speakership we’re talking about has, you know, we’re a majority by one. One vote,” Trump said. “You know, if you look at the vote, a lot of Republicans, a lot of good Republicans, voted for it. But Mike is in there and he’s trying, and some people were disappointed, and a lot of people were very disappointed that nothing happened with the border. I’ll straighten out the border.”
Trump bragged that he could fix the border without congressional action and suggested Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would not have happened if he was president. He made similar comments on Monday to radio host John Fredericks and praised Johnson for standing by him on NATO, Politico first reported.
“Well, look, we have a majority of one, OK?,” Trump said. “It’s not like he can go and do whatever he wants to do. I think he’s a very good person. You know, he stood very strongly with me on NATO when I said NATO has to pay up … I think he’s trying very hard.”
Trump’s radio comments followed his day in the courtroom watching opening statements at his “hush-money” criminal trial in Manhattan.
Johnson pushed his party last week to get behind a $95 billion foreign-aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, with other national-security priorities attached to it. Before the final vote, Trump urged Europe to do more to support Ukraine while emphasizing the importance of Ukrainian survival to U.S. interests.
The national-security package was split up into four separate bills and each one passed with significant bipartisan support. Ukraine aid passed 311-112, with 101 Republicans and 210 Democrats voting for it as Democrats waved Ukraine flags on the House floor. Israel aid passed 366-58 over objections from the far-left flank of the Democratic party.
The fourth bill contains the REPO Act allowing the U.S. to seize Russian assets and legislation mandating TikTok’s Chinese parent company divest from the social-media platform. The senate is expected to begin working on the legislation today.
House Republican hardliners have floated a motion to vacate Johnson from the speakership for supporting nearly $61 billion of Ukraine aid and relying on Democratic votes to get it through. The Reaganite wing of the Republican party strongly supported Johnson’s push to get foreign aid through the chamber after Iran launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Israel earlier this month.
Some conservatives have criticized Johnson for the lack of border security provisions in the foreign-aid legislation as the Biden administration allows record numbers of illegal migrants to cross the southern border. Republicans rejected in February a bipartisan immigration package negotiated in the senate for being insufficiently strong on border security.