为了寻求“历史正确的一面”，议长迈克·约翰逊冒着丢掉工作的危险向乌克兰提供援助
【中美创新时报2024 年 4 月 21 日编译讯】（记者温友平编译）众议院议长迈克·约翰逊（Mike Johnson）忽视了一个如此重大的决定，可能会改变历史进程，但也会结束他自己的职业生涯，他祈祷得到指引。美联社丽莎·马斯卡罗（LISA MASCARO）对此作了下述报道。
作为一名保守派基督徒，这位议长在是否带领众议院批准向乌克兰、以色列和其他美国盟友提供急需的 950 亿美元战时援助的问题上苦苦思索，而他所在的共和党多数派中的许多人都反对这一做法，有些人非常强烈，甚至想把他赶下台。
或者，他什么也做不了，停止美国的援助流动，并有可能保住自己的饭碗，但确保他作为众议院议长的地位，他带领美国从全球舞台上撤退，并让乌克兰在俄罗斯入侵中失利时只能自生自灭。
本周，约翰逊在议长办公室与同事们会面至深夜，他们为此祈祷。
“然后他第二天告诉我：我想站在历史正确的一边，”外交事务委员会主席、众议员迈克尔·麦考尔说。
约翰逊上任还不到六个月，他的领导力将有助于确定美国是否能够保持其作为演讲者所说的世界“灯塔”的地位，或者军事和人道主义援助是否会崩溃。对于国家、其盟友以及议长本人的生计来说，这是一个关键时刻。 预计本周末进行投票。
“他正在学习，”前共和党众议院议长纽特·金里奇说。
金里奇赞扬约翰逊没有被试图将他赶下台的极右共和党人吓倒，而是深入到自己作为罗纳德·里根时代共和党人的深层信仰，对美国及其盟友和国家的作用有着广泛的看法。他自己的发言权来做出决定。
“这是美国众议院。这不是一个政治游乐场，”金里奇说。“我们正在谈论真实的历史，我们正在谈论俄罗斯是否有可能占领乌克兰。”
约翰逊去年秋天闯入议长办公室，他是一个相对默默无闻的人，只是在党内混乱地寻找接替凯文·麦卡锡的人选后才出现的，而凯文·麦卡锡是美国历史上第一位被他赶下台的议长。
约翰逊几乎是一个偶然的演讲者，他没有接受过培训，也没有多少时间准备。他的主要成就之一是在 2021 年 1 月 6 日国会大厦遇袭之前，帮助领导唐纳德·特朗普 (Donald Trump) 试图推翻 2020 年大选输给乔·拜登 (Joe Biden) 的失败法律努力。
从一开始，这位第四任路易斯安那州议员面临的问题就显而易见：约翰逊是否会利用总统第二顺位继承权的权力，成为一名牢牢掌握木槌的议长？
或者，这位将自己描绘成基督教传统中的“仆人领袖”的众议院议长，是否会受制于不守规矩、本质上难以治理的共和党多数派，其中许多人与前总统特朗普结盟。
“这是丘吉尔或张伯伦的时刻，”民主党领袖、纽约众议员哈基姆·杰弗里斯说，他指的是二战时期的英国领导人。
在乌克兰援助问题上犹豫不决数月后，约翰逊本周似乎决心超越民粹主义极右翼，并依靠民主党推动一揽子计划的实施，这在两极分化严重的众议院中极不寻常。
他最近会见了特朗普，特朗普反对大量海外援助，并邀请俄罗斯在乌克兰“为所欲为”，介绍了他的计划，并避免了这位前总统的公开批评。
特朗普还批评了众议员马乔里·泰勒·格林(Marjorie Taylor Greene)——这位总统候选人在国会最强有力的盟友之一——驱逐这位议长的努力，从而获得了约翰逊所需的支持。
作为回报，约翰逊告诉特朗普，如果他重返白宫，他可能会成为“迄今为止最有影响力的总统”。
与此同时，约翰逊一直在与拜登总统私下交谈，拜登迅速认可了他的对外援助计划，这给约翰逊带来了提振。
尽管如此，过去被认为是国会工作方式的两党妥协的共同承诺，已经成为一种政治负担，以至于包括肯塔基州众议员托马斯·马西和亚利桑那州众议员保罗·戈萨尔在内的更多共和党人表示，他们将加入格林的罢免约翰逊行动。其他一些人则表示他应该辞职。
“我不认为他有勇气。亚利桑那州共和党众议员伊莱·克兰 (Eli Crane) 是一名强硬派人士，他投票罢免了麦卡锡，并且正在考虑对约翰逊采取同样的做法。
在担任议长的短期任期内，约翰逊习惯于在国会办公室闭门召集立法者，召开往往很长时间的会议。一些人认为无休止的争论令人发狂，削弱了议长的权力，而另一些人则赞赏他倾听立法者的意见。
本周，当大批春季游客涌入他的办公室时，约翰逊与议员们躲在一起。有一次会议拖到了午夜。第二天，他表现出了不同寻常的决心。
“历史根据我们所做的事情来评判我们，”约翰逊在雕像厅举行的临时新闻发布会上说道。
“我可以做出一个自私的决定，做一些不同的事情，但我在这里做的是我认为正确的事情，”他说。
约翰逊透露，他的儿子将于今年秋天进入海军学院。
“说白了，我宁愿给乌克兰送子弹，也不愿给美国男孩送子弹，”他说。
“这对我来说是一次实弹演习，因为这对很多美国家庭来说都是如此。这不是一个游戏。这不是一个玩笑。”
随着被免职的威胁愈演愈烈，约翰逊表示，他将在自己的工作上“让一切都顺其自然”。
周五，众议院的压倒性多数，即 300 多名议员（其中民主党人多于共和党人）投票支持推动该方案获得通过。
阿肯色州共和党众议员史蒂夫·沃马克 (Steve Womack) 谈到约翰逊时表示：“就我个人而言，我为我们所有人所说的面对此类威胁时表现出的勇气感到非常自豪。”
但民主党人表示，约翰逊花了这么长时间才做他们认为正确的事情，这让他们感到困惑和悲伤。
马里兰州民主党众议员杰米·拉斯金 (Jamie Raskin) 表示：“这是一个延迟的情况。”
一些民主党人表示，与他们拒绝帮助麦卡锡留任不同，他们会投票拯救约翰逊的职位——如果他愿意的话。
从金里奇开始，越来越多的共和党众议院议长被赶下台，或者像约翰·博纳和保罗·瑞安一样，提前下台。
美联社撰稿人凯文·弗雷金为本报告做出了贡献。
题图：就在众议院议员推动一项针对乌克兰、以色列和其他美国盟友的 950 亿美元国家安全援助计划即将获得通过后，众议院议长迈克·约翰逊 (Mike Johnson) 接受了记者采访。斯科特·阿普尔怀特/美联社（J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/ASSOCIATED PRESS）
附原英文报道：
Seeking ‘the right side of history,’ Speaker Mike Johnson risks his job to deliver aid to Ukraine
By LISA MASCARO The Associated Press,Updated April 19, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — Staring down a decision so consequential it could alter the course of history — but also end his own career — House Speaker Mike Johnson prayed for guidance.
A conservative Christian, the speaker wrestled over whether to lead the House in approving $95 billion in desperately needed war-time aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies, which many in his own Republican majority opposed — some so strongly they would try to boot him from office.
Or, he could do nothing, halting the flow of U.S. aid and potentially saving his own job but ensuring his place as the House speaker who led America’s retreat from the global stage and left Ukraine to fend for itself as it loses ground against the Russian invasion.
As Johnson met with colleagues late into the night this week at the speaker’s office, they prayed on it.
“And then he told me the next day: I want to be on the right side of history,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Not quite six months on the job, Johnson’s leadership will help determine if the U.S. is able to hold its standing as what the speaker has called a “beacon of light” for the world, or if the military and humanitarian aid is left to crumble at a pivotal moment for the country, its allies and the speaker’s own livelihood. Voting is expected this weekend.
“He’s learning,” said Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker.
Gingrich praised Johnson for not being cowed by the hard-right Republicans seeking to remove him from office, and instead reaching into his own deep well of beliefs as a Ronald Reagan-era Republican with an expansive view of the role of U.S., its allies and his own speakership to make a decision.
“This is the U.S. House. This is not a political playground,” Gingrich said. “We’re talking about real history, we’re talking about whether Russia potentially occupies Ukraine.”
Johnson tumbled into the speaker’s office last fall, a relative unknown who emerged only after a chaotic internal party search to replace Kevin McCarthy, who was the first speaker in U.S. history to he booted from office.
Almost an accidental speaker, Johnson had no training and little time to prepare. One of his main accomplishments was helping to lead Donald Trump’s failed legal efforts to overturn the 2020 election loss to Joe Biden in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
From the start, the question hanging over the fourth-term Louisiana lawmaker was apparent: Would Johnson become a speaker with a firm grasp of the gavel, utilizing the power of the office that is second in the line of succession to the president?
Or would the House speaker, who portrays himself as a “servant leader” in the Christian tradition, be beholden to the unruly, essentially ungovernable Republican majority, many aligned with former President Trump.
“This is a Churchill or Chamberlain moment,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic leader, referring to British leaders from the World War II era.
After months of dithering delays over the Ukraine aid, Johnson appeared this week determined to move past the populist far-right flank, and rely on Democrats to push the package forward, highly unusual in the deeply polarized House.
He had met recently with Trump, who objects to much overseas aid and has invited Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” in Ukraine, presenting his plan and avoiding public criticism from the former president.
Trump also gave Johnson a needed nod of support by panning the effort from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the presidential hopeful’s strongest allies in Congress, to evict the speaker.
In return, Johnson told Trump he could be the “most consequential president yet” if he is returned to the White House.
At the same time, Johnson has been speaking privately with President Biden, who gave Johnson a boost by quickly endorsing his foreign aid plan.
Still, what used to be considered the way Congress worked, the shared commitment to bipartisan compromise, has become such a political liability that more Republicans, including Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona, said they would join Greene’s effort to oust Johnson. Some others said he should simply resign.
“I don’t think he’s being courageous. I think he’s fallen right in line with the swamp,” said Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., a hardliner who voted to oust McCarthy and is considering the same for Johnson.
During his short term as speaker, Johnson has made a practice of convening lawmakers behind closed doors at his Capitol office for what are often long meetings. What some view as maddening sessions of endless arguing, shrinking the power of the speakership, others appreciate as him listening to lawmakers.
As crowds of spring tourists ushered past his office this week, Johnson holed up with lawmakers. One meeting dragged until midnight. The next day he displayed an unusual resolve.
“History judges us for what we do,” Johnson said during an impromptu press conference in Statuary Hall.
“I could make a selfish decision and do something that’s different, but I’m doing here what I believe to be the right thing,” he said.
Johnson disclosed that his son is headed to the Naval Academy this fall.
“To put it bluntly, I would rather send bullets to Ukraine than American boys,” he said.
“This is a live-fire exercise for me, as it is so many American families. This is not a game. This is not a joke.”
With the threat of his removal intensifying, Johnson said he would “let the chips fall where they may” on his own job.
On Friday, an overwhelming majority of the House, more than 300 lawmakers, more Democrats than Republicans, voted to push the package toward passage.
Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., said of Johnson: “I, for one, am just very proud of what we would all refer to as a profile in courage in the face of these kinds of threats.”
But Democrats said they were baffled and saddened it took Johnson so long to do what they see as the right thing.
“This is a profile in delay,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.
Some Democrats are saying that, unlike their refusal to help McCarthy stay in office, they would vote to save Johnson’s job — if he wants it.
A growing list of Republican House speakers, starting with Gingrich, were chased from office or, like John Boehner and Paul Ryan, simply exited early.
Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
