The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, holds the destiny of a democracy and a people in his hands.
It is not the United States that will survive even if the next general election results in another existential test for the constitutional system.
Johnson has the power to save Ukraine, two years after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded it and decreed it had no right to exist.
Ukrainian soldiers are running out of ammunition. There are signs that Russia could be about to break a stalemate and tilt the war in its favor.
Johnson, a congressman who was the last choice to lead the mutinied Republican majority in the House of Representatives last year, could ease Ukraine's agony and help ensure its survival as an independent nation in the days ahead.
It could allow a vote on a bill that includes $60 billion in aid that the Pentagon says is needed for kyiv to continue fighting effectively. It would likely pass with a comfortable bipartisan majority.
The Louisiana Republican's reluctance to do so is a commentary on the growing power of GOP front-runner Donald Trump, his party's sharp turn away from its pro-democracy globalist heritage and perhaps even his own ambition since borrowing Democratic votes. to finance the Ukrainian government. The defense could cost him the presidency.
Their plight will be highlighted at a meeting of four top congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday called by President Joe Biden.
Read more about Johnson's role in deciding aid to Ukraine.
