The House of Representatives gives Ukraine its best news in a year

JUST ONECIA week ago, hope looked fanciful. President Joe Biden’s pitch to spend $100bn on aid for America’s allies under threat—Israel, Taiwan and especially Ukraine—had for six months since it was proposed in October 2023. The dithering had consequences. Ukrainian soldiers, forced to ration ammunition, are being pummelled by Russians with an artillery advantage of five to one. America’s senior general in Europe warned that they would soon be outgunned by a margin of ten to one. Bill Burns, the director, warned on April 18th that, without any more aid, “there is a very real risk that the Ukrainians could lose on the battlefield by the end of 2024.”The man needed to see the necessary national-security budget bill through, Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House, seemed unfit for the task. Thrust into the role from relative obscurity six months ago after his loud, isolationist colleagues defenestrated their previous leader, Kevin McCarthy, Mr Johnson lacked leadership experience. He had only a razor-thin parliamentary majority, had voted repeatedly against Ukraine funding himself and faced the threat of regicide from his own side if he changed his mind. For months he seemed paralysed and indecisive. And yet on April 20th, under Mr Johnson’s leadership, the House of Representatives met the moment, passing the budget bill through extraordinary parliamentary manoeuvring with large, bipartisan majorities in defiance of the isolationist faction of the Republican Party. Even though a majority of his own party voted against additional aid for Ukraine, Mr Johnson secured its passage with unanimous Democratic support. The isolationists managed to delay America’s support for its allies for six months, but ultimately could not defeat it.