How Johnson came to embrace Ukraine aid and defy his right flank

Watch “Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju” at 8 a.m. ET and 11 a.m. ET on Speaker Johnson and the tension in the House GOP.

The day after Iran attacked Israel, House Speaker Mike Johnson was on the phone with a man who suddenly held the keys to his legislative agenda and potentially his own future: House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.

In a phone call that has not been previously reported, Johnson said he was ready to act on foreign aid, even though that would enrage Republicans who did not support additional assistance to Ukraine and could potentially cost him his job, a source familiar with the conversation told CNN.

Jeffries pressed Johnson on how many Republicans he could deliver to support the aid for Ukraine, knowing House Democrats would have to bring the rest, the source added.

But when Johnson returned to Washington, DC, on Monday plotting his path forward, he was faced with an onslaught of attacks from many of his GOP colleagues.

The Louisiana Republican quickly began hearing an earful from hardline conservatives, coming to realize his risky gambit of holding separate votes on aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan – and later tying those bills together in one package without including conservative demands over stricter border policies – could trigger a snap vote to remove him as speaker.

On Tuesday, Johnson sat in his office as members streamed in to voice their complaints and level their demands. By nighttime, he was wrestling how to proceed. Feeling the weight of his future and knowing history was watching him, Johnson, a devout Christian, turned to prayer.

“He was torn between trying to save his job and do the right thing,” House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, a top Ukraine