For a few hours yesterday, it appeared that the pro-Ukraine Republicans had managed to thwart the Kremlin Caucus by nominating Tom Emmer for Speaker of the House. Then Putin’s Number One fan chimed in (WaPo [1]).
Trump decided to weigh in shortly after the GOP conference picked Emmer as its third contestant to replace ousted former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) [2]. Emmer’s nomination followed the failed bids of Jordan and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.)
“I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors,” Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social. “RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them.”
Emmer’s candidacy collapsed literally within hours. With a new lease on life, the Putinist Republicans got more than they could have hoped with the new nominee – Louisiana’s Mike Johnson.
Johnson’s record on Ukraine can be found here; it’s terrible [3]. Not only did he oppose aid to Ukraine last month [4], he was among the at-the-time-very-few Republicans who opposed aid to Ukraine last year [5]. He was even part of Trump’s defense team during the 2020 Ukraine impeachment – despite the General Accounting Office’s clear finding that Trump broke the law [6].
Naturally, Trump was ecstatic (Politico [7]). The rest of us shouldn’t be. His election as Speaker would be a spectacular win for the Kremlin Caucus and a disaster for Ukraine. A party that universally admires him has no place holding power anywhere.