Mike Johnson Joins the Surrender Caucus

House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke with Punchbowl about his plans and hopes. They did not include helping Ukraine.

I don’t have an appetite for further Ukraine funding, and I hope it’s not necessary. If President Trump wins, I believe that he actually can bring that conflict to a close. I really do. I think he’ll call [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and tell him that this is enough. And I think everybody around the world is weary of this, and they want it to be resolved. So whatever the terms are, I’m not sure, but I think if Kamala Harris is president, I don’t think it ends, and that’s a desperate and dangerous scenario.

It didn’t take long for Putin’s lead crony (Dmitri Medvedev) to press the advantage and demand Ukraine “capitulate.” Given how much Trump has gone out of his way for Putin (including sending COVID testing machines to him as we faced a shortage – WaPo), I think Medvedev already knows the answer. So do we.

In other words, the Putinization of the Republican Party has now reached the Speaker – meaning that anyone who promises to keep him in post (i.e., any Republican running for Congress) is officially part of the problem. They have to lose – all of them.