Being Speaker of the House with an extraordinarily slim majority is a really tough job.

What it means is that you have to cut deals because you literally have no other ability to get

anything done.

Because given the fact that right now there is what is called a one vote motion to vacate

rule that is in place in the House of Representatives, that means any one member of the

Republican caucus can challenge the Speaker of the House of Representatives. That means any one member of the Republican caucus

can challenge the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson's job, at literally any given time.

It also means that if you have a bunch of headline-grabbing people in the Republican caucus

who are more interested in going on TV than in actually governing or in maintaining a majority

or in growing that majority to actually get big things done,

well, that can hold up the works. All this is coming to a head because Speaker Mike Johnson has now put forward a series of bills related to foreign aid. Now, let me talk about foreign aid for just a

second. Foreign aid is not the United States being wildly charitable. It is not the United States

randomly deciding to drop goodie bags in poor parts of the world. It is not the United States randomly deciding to drop

goodie bags in poor parts of the world. We're not talking about simply sending food to Somalia

or something. When it comes to foreign aid, there are always strings attached. That's what makes it

in America's interest to do these things in the same way that if you are attempting to sponsor a friend in order

to accomplish a particular goal, you might lend that friend money or you might give that

friend money just to get back on their feet in order to make sure that person remains a friend,

an ally is able to be strong.

That is what American foreign aid does.

And this has historically been the role of American foreign aid.

Obviously in the aftermath of World War II, the United States effectively single-handedly rebuilt Europe with the Marshall Plan.

...