Franklin Foer: I want to pivot to talking about, from that grim reality to Mike Johnson's grim reality this week.

I mean, ever since he became speaker, we've been talking about the way in which he's hanging on by his fingertips to the window ledge.

You've been up on the Hill watching closely.

Take us through his tumultuous week.

Lisa Desjardins: What a week, what a day, even today, dramatic.

Mike Johnson was not able to get through just the very first procedural vote on what may be the most important national security program, according to our national security officials, that we have.

This is the Republican Party.

They used to be the party of national security.

And part of his problem was the man we've been talking about, former President Donald Trump, who said that that program, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, FISA, he said it was illegal, kill it, that it came after him.

He was wrong.

He was sending out in his Truth Social posts incorrect false information.

He was confused or purposely being false about it.

And as a result, 19 Republicans were emboldened to just block this procedural move, creating quite a kerfuffle, embarrassing the speaker.

Now, I will say, in just today, he was able to thread the needle and get over another major hurdle, able to defeat a poison pill amendment, 212 to 212, thanks to who?

Progressive Democrats, who -- they were trying to beat the speaker.

Anyway, it was a combination, a wild day.

The speaker succeeded in getting through a FISA reauthorization, which, in his world, will come up for a vote again when, in two years, when I all hope, who will be president?

Donald Trump.

So, all of this is about a speaker trying to stay alive.

He faces a potentially even worse week next week.

We can talk about it.

But Donald Trump is completely overseeing, in a way, all of his maneuvers.

And he ended his week in Mar-a-Lago with Donald Trump, as you pointed out.

Franklin Foer: Yes.

Ryan Lizza: Trump is the shadow speaker right now.

I mean, the reason that FISA reform passed today is because they took it from five years to two years after Trump posted on social media about it.

And that was -- Franklin Foer: Even FISA, as a Republican obsession, wouldn't exist if Donald Trump didn't have this esoteric, as you say, somewhat incorrect idea about the role that it played in the Russia gate scandal.

And so it's all about kind of personal grievances from the past.

Ryan Lizza: I mean, there's a serious group of left-right coalition of privacy advocates who wanted to reform Section 702 to create an additional warrant process when Americans communications get swept up in foreign collection.

That was the vote that was defeated on a tie today yes.

That's not the case that Trump was making.

Franklin Foer: Yes.

Domenico, the culmination of Mike Johnson's week was that he goes and he kisses the ring and Mar-a-Lago.

And it feels like when you're interpreting Donald Trump and his relationship with various people who were trying to curry favor with him it's all about reading the body language.

As you looked at that tableau today, how did you assess the body language?

Domenico Montanaro: I mean, this is all about Republican politics.

And Mike Johnson, any speaker who's in a situation where at any point somebody on the right can try to take you out, can try to vacate -- file a motion to vacate, you need the sort of sunshine of Donald Trump in the Republican Party to say, this is my guy.

Don't mess with him.

He's okay.

Or maybe not my guys totally, but he'll do for now, right?

I mean, when you look at our poll, 81 percent of Republicans have a favorable opinion of Donald Trump.

It's -- you know, he's mostly unfavorable when it comes to the country at large, but that's why this is all about Republican politics and what can get through and whether Mike Johnson can keep his job.

Susan Glasser: Well, that's the thing, I mean, Donald Trump has become the ideology of the party.

To Frank's point, it is not.

There are principled argument perhaps on FISA that for a long time there have been privacy advocates.

That's not what this about for Trump.

Next week, there's going to be a fight for six months, essentially.

The Republican, very slim majority in House of Representatives, has single-handedly blocked a popular bill funding U.S. assistance to Ukraine, $60 billion.

The Ukrainian military is running out of air defense, is run out weapons.

Why?

Because Mike Johnson is beholden to Donald Trump.

He wouldn't be the speaker right now if Donald had not signed off on him becoming speaker.

He is a completely unknown, completely politically inexperienced guy.

He's an accidental speaker who wouldn't be speaker if it weren't for Donald Trump.

And we all know it's not the Republican Party's ideology to bow down to Vladimir Putin.

It is Donald Trump's ideology that has caused this stranglehold.

And if they bring the bill to the floor, it would pass because there are enough Republicans who support American assistance in Ukraine.

So, to me, this is classic test.

And, you know, I think the message is not so great to Ukraine if the speaker ends the week in Mar-a-Lago with Donald Trump.

Franklin Foer: Well, I want to just I would have turned to some one of the other subplots here in the story, which is that you have Marjorie Taylor Greene holding this threat to basically take him out of his job.

And it seems like with Marjorie Taylor Greene and Mike Johnson are supplicants in front of Trump each -- can you just talk us through some of that?

Ryan Lizza: Well, Greene is threatening to depose Johnson if he puts a Ukraine bill on the floor.

Trump doesn't support a Ukrainian bill generally.

So, Mike Johnson needed to basically get Trump's blessing to say, hey, you don't support Marjorie's hair-brain scheme here to overthrow me, right?

And Trump did do that.

The great question, though, out of that meeting today in Mar-a-Lago is, what path does Johnson now have on the Ukraine supplemental?

What promise did he get from Trump?

He seems to have put the threat from Marjorie Taylor Greene at bay, at least to the extent that Trump signaled he doesn't want that.

Franklin Foer: Yes.

Ryan Lizza: Now, did they make a deal on Ukraine?

The question -- Lisa Desjardins: The possible path is alone, which is what President Trump brought up today with Speaker Johnson.

It was an interesting thing.

And all this is still about sort of who is the Republican Party, where they go forth on Ukraine, on classic issues like abortion.

And a quick note on that, I know you're saying grim reality, but on abortion there is a spectrum and there are many pro-choice, pro-life (INAUDIBLE) who are in the middle you know who still think about life as well as the woman's right, and it's a complicated issue.

Franklin Foer: Just quickly, before we wrap up, will this pass?

You are a resident -- Lisa Desjardins: Ukraine?

Franklin Foer: Yes.

Lisa Desjardins: It could pass.

I don't think it happens next week right now.

It could.

It's -- Speaker Johnson is the only one who knows right now, he and President Trump, former President Trump are having a conversation on that.

Right now, it feels like, no, not next week, but maybe two weeks, three weeks down the road.

Ryan Lizza: And don't forget, if they open it up --