House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) this week made one of his first big decisions as the new head of the House GOP, joining with Republicans who want to withhold aid for Ukraine to defend itself from a Russian army accused of war crimes so they can use it as a bargaining chip for more U.S. border security.

The issue of whether and to what degree to support Ukraine following Russias February 2022 invasion has split Republicans in the House and, to a lesser extent, in the Senate as well.

But this heightens the risk of a showdown with the White House and Democrats, who are largely united in backing Ukraine and warn that abandoning support will only encourage other authoritarian governments around the world.

We want to know what the objective there is, Johnson said in an interview Thursday night with Fox News host Sean Hannity . What is the endgame in Ukraine? The White House has not provided that.