“To his great credit, the new speaker has been a stalwart on the Ukraine issue—voting consistently against an endless conflict with no plan from the Biden administration,” Vance said on Friday. “It’s concerning to see him change his tune so quickly after being elevated to this role.”

Johnson, in a Thursday interview on Fox News, stated that “we can’t allow Vladimir Putin to prevail in Ukraine, because I don’t believe it would stop there, and it would probably encourage and empower China to perhaps make a move on Taiwan. We have these concerns.”

He did, however, assert that the chamber had an obligation to spend taxpayer dollars responsibly.

[As I predicted, Johnson’s reasonable response will create another silly point of rhetorical convention. Why not wait to see what transpires in the House — and in the Senate, where Vance can have his say? — Ed]