Top Democrat says Johnson in ‘good position’ to remain Speaker if he stages Ukraine vote

The head of the House Democratic Caucus suggested Wednesday that Democratic lawmakers stand ready to rescue Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) from a potential GOP coup — if he ushers Ukraine aid through the lower chamber and on to President Biden’s desk. 

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) stopped short of saying he would vote personally to save Johnson from a motion to vacate resolution. But echoing an earlier message from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Aguilar noted a number of Democrats are already on record saying they’d help keep Johnson in power if he stages a vote on the Ukraine package that passed through the Senate in February.

That willingness by Democrats to cross the aisle, Aguilar suggested, should be enough to overcome the number of Republicans who might try to topple Johnson.

“The Speaker needs to put that bill on the floor,” Aguilar said during a press briefing in the Capitol. “You have also heard me say, you have also heard Leader Jeffries say — and he has pointed out that it was an observation, not a declaration — that we feel that if the Speaker does the right thing that he is in a good position.

“But look, we’ve got to do the right thing. We’ve got to pass these bills. We’ve got to have some sanity under this dome. And that means putting bills on the floor that have 300 votes.”

The comments arrive as Johnson is scrambling for a strategy to move a Ukraine package though the lower chamber, where conservatives in his conference are ardently opposed to sending billions of dollars more to Kyiv. Some of those critics want to secure the U.S. border first. Others want assurances that the costs will be covered by changes elsewhere in the budget, so they don’t add to the debt. And still others, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), simply oppose the concept of Ukraine aid, saying it would only prolong a war that’s already a lost cause.

Greene has already introduced a resolution to vacate the Speakership, and although she has so far opted not to force a vote on the measure, she’s strongly suggested she’ll do so if Johnson puts a Ukraine bill on the floor. 

“Funding Ukraine is probably one of the most egregious things that he can do,” Greene told CNN last week.

It’s unclear how many other Republicans would support Greene’s motion if she forces it to the floor. 

A number of conservatives are already furious with Johnson for cutting a deal with Biden last month to fund the government. And many are also up in arms over Johnson’s endorsement of legislation to extend the government’s domestic surveillance powers. But no Republican has come out publicly in support of Greene’s vacate resolution.

Aguilar said he doesn’t know of any direct talks between Johnson and Democratic lawmakers over the potential vote — a conversation he said is best left between the Speaker and Jeffries. 

“If the Speaker wants to have a conversation with Leader Jeffries about that, that is where the discussion should be had,” Aguilar said. “Members want to see the Speaker do the right thing. House Democratic members want to see the Speaker put this bill on the floor so we can send it to the president’s desk so we can deliver the important aid to Ukraine. 

“That’s what we want done.”