Why Speaker Mike Johnson’s stance on Ukraine aid has him on thin ice

House Speaker Mike Johnson could be facing the most perilous threat to his leadership yet as Congress once again debates Ukraine aid.

Johnson recently made clear he wants to hold a vote on sending more funding to Ukraine after the House returns from recess on Tuesday. That stance has infuriated far-right members like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has vocally opposed the provision of such funds. Greene’s dissent over Ukraine — along with far-right members’ dismay over bipartisan government funding deals — has prompted her to issue an open threat to Johnson’s job.

“Mike Johnson is not working for Republicans, he’s not helping Republicans, he’s not even listening to Republicans. Mike Johnson is doing the Deep State’s dirty work,” Greene said in an X statement last week. “We need a new Speaker of the House!”

For now, Greene’s threat is just talk. Although she has filed a resolution regarding Johnson’s removal, it isn’t an expedited measure, meaning it isn’t guaranteed an immediate floor vote just yet. Additionally, Democrats have signaled that they could well help Johnson if he supports Ukraine aid. Given the House GOP’s two-seat majority, any Democratic assistance would likely thwart an attempt at removal if enough members of both parties banded together to save Johnson.

Still, the threat adds to the competing pressures Johnson is facing on Ukraine — and spotlights the deep fracturing of the Republican conference and the dysfunction that’s plagued their tenure in the majority.

In practice, that’s meant they haven’t been able to get much done — even compared to…