Mike Johnson may be speaker, but Democrats run the House

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has laid it all on the table: he’s staking his speakership—and his cozy relationship with Donald Trump—on aid to Ukraine, and putting his fate in the hands of Democrats. Democrats, in turn, are not going to make it easy for him. In an impassioned speech Wednesday, Johnson argued that getting aid to Ukraine was paramount, even if putting that bill on the floor will likely trigger a move to oust him. “This is a critical time right now, a critical time on the world stage,” Johnson said. “I can make a selfish decision and do something that’s different but I’m doing here what I believe to be the right thing.” He continued: “I think providing lethal aid to Ukraine right now is critically important. I really do. I really do believe the intel and the briefings that we’ve gotten. I believe Xi, Vladimir Putin and Iran really are an axis of evil. I think they’re in coordination on it.” Democrats seized on that speech, with Rep. Rosa DeLauro, ranking member on the Appropriations Committee, quoting it Thursday morning in her opening testimony in the Rules Committee. And it’s that committee—and the Democrats on it—that will determine the success of Johnson’s plan. The bills cannot advance to the floor if the committee doesn’t approve them, and the controlling bloc of Republican votes—the three extremists Reps. Chip Roy, Ralph Norman, and Thomas Massie—on that committee have already said they will oppose it. It “sure would seem likely at this point” that Democrats will have to help get the bills out of committee, Roy told reporters.  That would make history, again. The minority helping pass a bill out of Rules hasn’t happened since 1995—and perhaps ever—according to “parliamentary obsessive and savant” @ringwiss, an uber procedural nerd who has gained a large following of House members, staff, and reporters because of his prowess in teasing out the archania of parliamentary procedures.  The minority, however, is not making any promises to Johnson that they’ll do that, and in the end save his bacon. Ranking Rules Committee Democrat Rep. Jim McGovern was blunt about it while talking to reporters Thursday. “I don't trust these guys ... if they play it straight, we’ll see.” He’s following the advice of Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. In a meeting with his conference Thursday morning, according to members in the room who spoke with Politico, he told members to “Stay united and frosty on the foreign aid package, with no marching orders on exactly what that would require from Democrats.”  That’s smart, because Johnson isn’t giving them much yet. They’ve pushed him to speed up consideration of the bills on the floor, to not adhere to the 72-hours rule to consider a bill. He’s done it before, in fact just last month in finally passing government funding. That move enraged the maniacs, of course, but they’ll be enraged no matter what he does. So he has nothing more to lose by expediting this one. Democrats have no need to give any promises to Johnson at this point, especially when they hold the card of being able to force the vote on the Senate bill with a discharge petition. RELATED STORIES: The walls are closing in on GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson Failing to help Ukraine would be far worse for the US than a shutdown Another resignation means the House GOP's margin for error will shrink even faster Campaign Action