Moderate Republicans commend Speaker Johnson following foreign aid vote

CNN —

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul applauded House Speaker Mike Johnson Sunday for bringing foreign aid legislation to his chamber’s floor, characterizing the move as “a profile in courage.”

“I am so proud of the speaker, Mike Johnson,” the Texas Republican, who has been a staunch supporter of passing additional foreign aid, said on ABC’s “This Week.” “He went through a transformation. At the end of the day, a profile in courage is putting the nation above yourself, and that’s what he did. He said, ‘At the end of the day, I’m going to be on the right side of history irrespective of my job.’”

Aid to Israel, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific escaped months of congressional gridlock Saturday when the House passed a $95 billion foreign aid package in four separate bills, which will be compiled into one amendment and sent to the Senate for a Tuesday vote. The vote to advance the key aid legislation came as bipartisan pressure on Johnson to pass support for allies abroad mounted, while his far-right allies floated an effort to strip him of his gavel.

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A small group of hardline Republicans, led by firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, have rallied behind an effort to oust Johnson from House leadership, criticizing the Louisiana Republican for relying on Democrats to pass foreign aid, among other priorities. McCaul, who was with Johnson the night before the foreign aid legislation was released, recounted to CNN that the House leader — a devout Christian — prayed as he grappled with the political consequences of doing “the right thing” by bringing the