House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that while the United States is not abandoning Ukraine, something needs to change.
Johnson has suggested that someone other than President Volodymyr Zelenskyy may need to lead the war-torn country following an explosive conversation on Feb. 28 at the White House with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
“Well, something has to change,” Johnson said during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Either he has to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that.”
Tensions came to a head on Friday as Trump, Vance, and Zelenskyy discussed the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and a proposed agreement allowing the United States greater access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as a way for the war-torn country to compensate for the aid provided by the United States and to continue receiving U.S. support.
Johnson also said that it’s in everyone’s interest to end the war.
When asked whether Russian President Vladmir Putin should step down, Johnson said: “I’d like to see Putin defeated, frankly. He is an adversary of the United States. But in this conflict, we’ve got to bring an end to this war. It’s in everybody’s interest.”
Since Friday’s high-profile blowup, some have agreed that a leadership change is necessary for Ukraine to resolve its ongoing conflict with Russia. Others believe that such a change would only make matters worse and jeopardize the already difficult peacemaking process.
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) disagreed with Johnson’s assertion that Zelenskyy should step down and said trying to find a new negotiator for peace would “spiral Ukraine into chaos.”
“I’m not interested in calling on the resignation of other world leaders,” Lankford said. “I didn’t like it when Chuck Schumer asked for [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to be removed. I don’t like it when other members of the Senate ask for Zelenskyy to be removed either.”
Zelenskyy himself recently said that, hypothetically, he would step down from office if it meant securing peace, but said he would “immediately” step down in exchange for Ukraine being allowed to join NATO—a red line for Russia and a key reason for its initial invasion. As a result, U.S. leaders have said that any expectation of Ukraine joining NATO at this time is “unrealistic.”
Johnson on Sunday also said that it’s up to the Ukrainians to determine their leader’s fate. Trump has pushed for elections in Ukraine but legislation prohibits holding elections during a state of martial law, which Ukraine declared when Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24, 2022.
Zelenskyy, who was elected for a five-year term in March 2019, previously ruled out holding a presidential vote for the spring of this year, saying it would be “irresponsible” to do so during wartime.
Russia has long maintained that Zelenskyy is an illegitimate leader.
