MaddowBlog-Mike Johnson's weakness is on display as members go around him on Ukraine aid

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Most modern House speakers have gone their whole tenure without a successful discharge petition. Johnson, however, has seen eight.

Usually, House members embarrass Speaker Mike Johnson by ignoring his wishes and voting against legislation he supports.

But the recent flurry of successful discharge petitions, which has unfolded on a historic scale, makes him appear even more pitiful.
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— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-05-14T17:11:46.764Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/mike-johnsons-weakness-on-display-as-members-go-around-him-on-ukraine-aid

For months, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, had championed legislation to send additional security aid to Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s invasion. The proposal, however, was stuck: House Republican leaders refused to consider it, and so the bill languished.

That is, until this week. The New York Times reported:

A bipartisan effort to force a vote on legislation sending fresh American security aid to Ukraine has amassed the 218 signatures needed to force a floor vote, the latest in a series of instances of rank-and-file lawmakers wresting control of the chamber’s agenda from Republican leaders. […]

[O]n Wednesday, Representative Kevin Kiley, the California independent who caucuses with Republicans, signed onto the effort, known as a discharge petition, which calls for a vote and starts a clock that will compel House leaders to bring the measure to the floor as soon as the end of the month.

.....Usually, members embarrass Johnson by ignoring his wishes and voting against legislation he has urged them to support. But this flurry of successful discharge petitions, which has no modern precedent, makes the House speaker appear even more diminished.

Kilgore’s recent piece added, “Signs of weakness invite further revolts by House members who fear voters more than this mild-mannered former backbencher from Louisiana, whose authority is totally dependent on Trump’s backing, which can be erratic during times when the president is distracted by nonlegislative matters like ending wars and naming things after himself. Politicians, like guard dogs, can smell fear and irresolution.”

The question, then, is less whether we’ll see more successful discharge petitions and more a question of when, as Johnson’s weak hold on power unravels further.