By passing Ukraine aid, the accidental speaker became an unlikely Churchill

CNN —

Republican Speaker Mike Johnson showed political courage that is rare in Washington and notable legislative skill for an inexperienced leader in forcing a long-delayed $60 billion aid bill for Ukraine through the House of Representatives on Saturday.

Johnson put his own job in extreme peril to stand up for a democratic nation victimized by an unprovoked invasion by Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and to bolster America’s leadership of the West. His actions could save thousands of Ukrainian lives, even if Russia’s determination to win a bloody war in which it is targeting civilians shows no sign of fading.

Johnson’s support for the bill followed a period of self-examination and a political evolution that is also unusual in the hyperpolarized Capitol. One of his senior colleagues in the House said the “transformation” involved prayer by the devout Louisiana hardline conservative, who expressed a wish to be on the right side of history.

Johnson’s piloting of the bill through the House, after months of bitter infighting that split the GOP, saw him side with the diminished internationalist Ronald Reagan wing of his party while turning his back on the “America First” faction where he previously made his political home.

Johnson argued that without the United States continuing its arms and ammunition lifeline to Ukraine, Russia could score a victory that would prompt it to march deeper into Europe, drawing the US into another world war. He said a failure to act would bolster the emerging de facto axis of totalitarianism between Russia, Iran and China. Two other bills that Johnson shepherded through the House in a rare Saturday session will also send new aid to Israel and Taiwan, reinforcing other vital US