Understanding Mike Johnson’s switch on Ukraine aid

One of the biggest developments since you and I last talked has been the House vote on more money for Ukraine.

Before becoming House speaker, Johnson, R-La., never supported helping Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

So what caused him to do so this month, despite threats to his speakership from the far right? 

"It culminates a months-long, behind-the-scenes campaign by intelligence chiefs, White House officials, European diplomats and evangelical Christians from Ukraine to persuade him,” says the Financial Times.

The day after he was elected speaker in October, Johnson met with President Biden and the three House national security panel chairs — Reps. Michael Turner, R-Ohio; Michael McCaul R-Texas; and Mike Rogers, R-Ala. — who took him to the White House for a worldwide threats briefing heavy on Ukraine, says The Washington Post. And former CIA director and ex-secretary of state Mike Pompeo became an informal adviser.

“I really do believe the intel and the briefings that we’ve gotten,” Johnson said when he explained his decision to call a vote.

Private meetings among Johnson, a devout Baptist, and persecuted Ukrainian Christians were also a “big factor,” says Melinda Haring, a senior adviser at Razom. a Ukrainian human rights group.

On April 12, Johnson traveled to Mar-a-Lago for a meeting with former President Trump. Johnson told Trump that he would hold a vote on Ukraine aid, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

Trump already had come under pressure from several pro-Ukraine foreign leaders, including British foreign secretary David Cameron, who made the case for more support for Kyiv to Trump over dinner on April 9, says the Financial Times.

Trump expressed his approval for Johnson in a news conference after their meeting, giving the speaker cover. 

Johnson’s son is starting at the U.S. Naval Academy in the fall. “This is a live-fire exercise for me, as it is for so many families,” Johnson told reporters. “To put it bluntly, I would rather send bullets to Ukraine, than American boys. … We have to do the right thing, and history will judge us.”