After 36 hours of agonizing inaction, House Speaker Mike Johnson has given Democrats a reason, and a timeline, to bail him out.
Why it matters: A GOP-led Johnson ouster attempt is more of a when instead of an if, but he's got a shot to get foreign aid bills passed before a vote on his job.
Coming into the morning, there were deep worries among Republicans on Capitol Hill that the House GOP was prepared to act by not acting — effectively surrendering the agenda to Democrats.
But if Johnson can land the plane on time — with the Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific bills out today and final votes by Saturday night — he'll be able to claim House Republicans put their own stamp on the process.
Ukraine aid is on track to pass in short order, whether it's a GOP-preferred version or by some House Republicans signing on to help Democrats force a vote on the Senate-passed version.
Between the lines: The Israel bill includes the billions in humanitarian aid for Gaza that Democrats said was a must-have for their votes.
Zoom in: GOP skeptics see Johnson's offer to move a separate border bill as a slap in the face.
Conservatives know they don't gain any leverage from it because it's not attached to the rest of the bills.
"You are seriously out of step with Republicans by continuing to pass bills dependent on Democrats," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said after Johnson shared his plans.
"[W]hether it happens two weeks from now, two months from now, or in the next majority, he will not be speaker," Greene told Breitbart News yesterday.
The bottom line: Johnson is poised get some help for his razor-thin margin from Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), whose resignation from Congress was set to take effect on Friday.
"The congressman has the flexibility to stay and support the aid package on Saturday," Gallagher's office said.