A number of lawmakers who backed the aid packages today said their views on House Speaker Mike Johnson as a leader changed after the speaker put bills on the floor despite a threat against his job.
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, said he thinks it was a transformative moment for Johnson as a leader, adding that the speaker's stock in the conference has gone up even as he faces the threat of an ouster from a minority of members.
“I have tremendous respect. ... He had a learning curve, but at the end of the day, he knew what the right thing to do was,” McCaul said.
Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois was blunt when asked whether he had a new respect and view of the speaker than he did two weeks ago.
“I guess I do. The old adage is it’s never too late to do the right thing. We tested that,” Quigley said. “I think we build on this. ... We have a lot of challenges. It’s good news that today at a critical time, we did act cohesively as a legislature.”
GOP Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska said he always thought Johnson would get there but a turning point came when the speaker was briefed that passing Ukraine aid by April was essential.
“He’s always said he was for Ukraine, and I’ve always believed him,” Bacon said. “I think he just came to the conclusion we couldn’t wait any longer. He was briefed that we had to get this done in April or bad things were going to happen to Ukraine."