It was a brilliant bit of maneuvering by Johnson, who has proven up to the challenge of learning quickly on the job after being plucked from the back benches to the speaker’s chair in October.
In the end, the $65 billion in aid for Ukraine passed 311-112 with mostly Democratic support. All those who opposed it were Republicans, with only 102 in favor. In the Louisiana delegation, in addition to Johnson, only Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, and Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, supported the Ukraine aid. Reps. Julia Letlow, R-Start, Garret Graves, R-Ϳʷ¼, and Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, voted with the opposition.
We find it unfortunate that our delegation wasn’t unanimous in its support of our speaker in a difficult spot, especially on a vote where the exigencies are so clear. It’s one thing to let politics divide us when there’s not much at stake, but in the case of Ukraine, time is running short and lives are being lost.
Speaker Johnson made to find a way through the gridlock. After months of wrestling with the issue, he said intelligence briefings convinced him this was no time for cowardice.
Even with hard-liners calling for his ouster, he put his job on the line to do what he believed was right. That is the best and highest example of public service we can ask for as citizens. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul of Texas called Johnson “a profile in courage.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked him personally.
“My philosophy is do the right thing and let the chips fall where they may," Johnson said ahead of the vote.
We hope that the chips fall in Johnson’s favor. But even if they don’t, he has earned our respect — and the respect of the entire free world — for not taking the easy road and stepping up to the responsibility to lead.
