Kinzinger: Johnson will be blamed in history books if Ukraine loses war with Russia

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said Sunday that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will be blamed if the U.S. fails to provide aid to Ukraine and it loses its war against Russia.

“Now, he has to think about his conscience, because I got to tell you, if Ukraine loses this fight, he will be the guy in the history books that are written about why Ukraine lost this fight,” Kinzinger said in an interview on CNN. “They won’t necessarily say that he’s the one that pulled the aid, but he’s the one that could have done something which changed it.”

“We need to recognize the fact that Ukraine — it’s not us helping Ukraine. Ukraine is helping us, by fighting to defend themselves against one of our chief competitors and frankly, enemies in this world,” Kinzinger added as he highlighted the importance of passing aid to Ukraine.

The House returns to Congress this week after a two-week holiday recess. Johnson has pledged to pass some version of Ukraine aid upon the chamber’s return, but he has not specified how he plans to do so.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) filed a motion to vacate the Speaker’s chair before the House gaveled out for recess — serving as a looming threat to Johnson’s position as Speaker. She did not file the motion as a privileged resolution, so Greene would need to take further action if she wanted to force a vote on Johnson’s ouster.

“If he passes that $60 billion to Ukraine, and then follows up with FISA reauthorization, you’re going to see a lot more Republicans than just me coming out saying his Speakership is over with,” Greene told The Washington Post.

Kinzinger dismissed the likelihood of a successful bid to oust the Speaker, and he encouraged Johnson to strike a deal with Democrats on Ukraine aid.

“He’s going to survive. I would put dollars to doughnuts, he’ll be the Speaker at the end of this term,” Kinzinger said Sunday about Johnson. “Now he’s either going to survive by succumbing to the, frankly, the terrorism of Marjorie Taylor Greene — anytime anything wants to get done, she’s gonna hold this threat over his head — or he can survive by cutting a deal with the Democrats.”

“If I was him, I would come back. I would put the Senate bill on the floor or, next case, is just strip the Israel portion out of it, since that’s a little more controversial,” Kinzinger said. “Pass it and either send it back to the Senate or send it to the President to sign and have your conscience clear and let the Ukrainians defeat the Russians on the battlefield.”