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One year ago, with the country heading toward default, a bipartisan coalition of House Republicans and Democrats combined to approve legislation that raised the debt ceiling and averted a crisis.
At the time, I noted how this bipartisan coalition of convenience was the only practical governing coalition in congress.
Republicans may have the most seats—barely—but their numerical edge repeatedly fails to translate into a governing majority because it includes a faction of reactionaries committed to blowing things up. This is why the 118th Congress will go into the books as one of the least productive in modern history.
Whenever they faced must-pass legislation, Republicans have been unable to deliver on their own. They need Democrats to make governing possible.
We saw this dynamic reassert itself Saturday, when aid to Ukraine, along with Israel and Taiwan, finally cleared the House. The Ukraine measure passed by a lopsided 311-112 bipartisan vote. All 210 Democrats voted to support Ukraine. A majority of Republicans did not.
We saw this coming Friday, when Democrats on the House Rules Committee provided the votes to bring the measure to the floor. This almost never happens. The Rules Committee is the province of the majority party. They get to set the agenda. That it took a bipartisan vote to propel the measure from the Rules Committee and another bipartisan vote to send it to the Senate tells you everything you need to know about what it takes for this congress to function.
The only practical governing majority in the House includes Democrats. But it is a majority that the minority of reactionaries reject. And for months, Speaker Johnson rejected it too.
Under pressure from his radical faction and their leader Donald Trump, Johnson held off bringing Ukraine assistance to the floor even though he knew the vast majority of the House supported it. Actually, he resisted bringing the measure to the floor because a vast majority supported it.
Johnson saw what happened to Kevin McCarthy for making a deal with Democrats. It’s why he became speaker in the first place. Now it was his turn to see his speakership threatened by Marjorie Taylor Greene if he allowed a vote on the measure. Last month, Greene filed a motion to vacate the chair which she was holding over Johnson as a threat she could activate any time.
Under pressure from Greene and Trump—who made it very clear that he did not want the United States to give any more assistance to Ukraine—Johnson dragged his heels.
Finally, this weekend, he did the right thing. With intelligence reports indicating Ukraine was at risk of losing the war this year if the United States didn’t act, Johnson relented and allowed Saturday’s vote to go forward.
Whenever they faced must-pass legislation, Republicans have been unable to deliver on their own. They need Democrats to make governing possible.
Then something interesting happened. Greene backed down from her threat to trigger the motion to vacate the chair. Sure, she engaged in a little projection and called Johnson a traitor to his country, but she didn’t demand a vote to dislodge him before members left town.
That could be because Democrats have openly stated they would be willing to provide cover for Johnson after he allowed the Ukraine aid package to advance.
This alliance between Democrats and Republicans who are periodically willing to govern is awkward and highly inefficient, and it’s only emerged on a few must-pass bills, but it has proved to be the only way to freeze out the radicals who otherwise have controlled this legislative session.
Even if his job is safe for today, Johnson’s decision to allow a vote on Ukraine aid is bound to intensify the wrath of the radicals. It’s politically risky for Johnson to be seen working too closely with Democrats in our hyper-partisan age, when any outreach across the aisle is regarded as treasonous by the MAGA faithful. So don’t expect more bipartisan governance until after November, when voters will have a chance to put the only remaining governing party back in charge.
But don’t lose sight of what a huge defeat this was for reactionaries on the Hill and their rapidly shrinking leader. MAGA was the big loser on Saturday. The House repudiated Trump and Putin by siding with Ukraine over Russia.
It may not be entirely coincidental that the collapse of the House anti-Ukraine blockade coincided with the end of a week where Trump was confined to a courthouse to face charges like a common felony defendant.
Between the start of his first criminal trial and the abject failure of his signature foreign policy demand, Donald Trump’s political influence is sputtering in a way we haven’t seen before.
It’s going to be an especially busy week in court
Speaking of Trump’s legal problems, this promises to be a pivotal week on the judicial accountability front, starting in a few minutes when opening arguments are scheduled to commence in the New York election interference case. Also today, down the street in a different Manhattan courtroom, a New York civil court will determine whether to reject that $175 million bond Trump posted to permit him to appeal the fraud judgment against him.
Then tomorrow, there’s going to be a hearing in the election interference case to determine whether Trump violated the terms of the gag order placed on him by the judge.
And Thursday marks the long-awaited—and long delayed—oral argument before the Supreme Court on whether Trump is entitled to presidential immunity for actions taken to overturn the 2020 election.
If you think that’s a lot for us to absorb, imagine the pressure it’s going to place on Trump. Actually, you won’t have to imagine, because his behavior will tell you everything you need to know.