I’ve been saying that at SOME point Republicans in Congress ARE gonna wake up…..
It’ll be slow….
But it WILL BE…..
Donald ain’t running for anything….
Republicans in Congress WILL BE….
A handful of Republican senators have broken with President Trump on four issues this week, even as they’re in lockstep with him on the government shutdown.
Why it matters: From tariffs to troop levels, some Republicans are starting to flex their institutional muscles.
- It’s not outright defiance, but the renegade senators are delineating when and where they’re willing to defy Trump.
1) Tariffs: Senate Republicans joined with Democrats three times this week to pass joint resolutions repealing Trump tariffs — on Brazil, Canada and worldwide.
- Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) voted with Democrats against Trump tariffs.
2) Romania: The House and Senate GOP chairs of the Armed Services committees derided Trump’s decision to draw down troops in Romania.
- “We strongly oppose the decision,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said in a joint statement Wednesday, arguing it “sends the wrong signal to Russia.”
- “It is concerning that Congress was not consulted in advance of this decision,” they added.
- McConnell, who chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, joined in their concerns. “Retreating from Europe doesn’t advance deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, because Russia and China are working together to undermine us,” he said in a statement
3) Venezuela: Some Republicans expressed concern today that the White House chose to exclude Democrats on Wednesday from a briefing about the administration’s strikes on boats allegedly involved in drug smuggling.
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told the HuffPost that Democrats “absolutely” should be briefed, and it is “very important that everybody’s briefed.”….
…
Thumbs down Trump’s push for dropping the Fillbuster….
Thune told reporters last week that getting rid of the filibuster to reopen government would be a “bad idea.”
Senate Republicans control 53 seats and could change the chamber’s rules by voting to set a new precedent that the filibuster does not apply to government-funding legislation.
Changing the rules with a simple-majority vote instead of the 67 votes normally required under regular order is viewed as such a drastic step that it’s compared to detonating a nuclear weapon in a military conflict.
Doing so would radically change the Senate by opening the door to passing legislation with a simple majority instead of 60, which would allow any party that wins control of the White House and both chambers of Congress to rewrite the nation’s laws in a relatively short period of time….
…
At his daily press conference Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson warned against abolishing the Senate’s filibuster rule despite Trump’s call to do just that.
Johnson, noting the House does not have the same rule, suggested that Trump floated the nuclear option because of his “anger” at the continued government stalemate.
But he warned of the impact if “the shoe was on the other foot” and the Democrats held the Senate….
More…
Note….
We’ll see Trump makes out with the Supreme’s on Birthright Citizenship, Tariffis and Stealing National Guard Troops from states….
( yawn)