Now that President Donald Trump has announced he’ll declare a national emergency to bypass congress and fund a border wall, we’re starting to learn just how badly he’s been handling the mess he created. To put it mildly, he’s fucking it all up.
In the days leading up to Thursday’s announcement, Trump was reportedly waffling extremely hard on whether or not to sign the bipartisan budget deal hammered out by Congress to ensure the country wasn’t subjected to another government shutdown. Per the Washington Post:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was on the phone with Trump at least three times during the course of the nerve-racking day, pressing him to stay the course and asserting that Democrats had actually lost the spending fight, two people familiar with the conversations said.
Never a good sign when someone smarter than you has to insist that the crow you’re being forced to eat is actually a delicious gourmet meal (or in Trump’s case: a badly cooked steak). But perhaps even more embarrassing is this, again from the Post (emphasis mine):
Though White House officials insisted Thursday that Trump was acting in a defiant and assertive way, few Republicans, including the president’s closest allies, were pleased with the ending: $1.375 billion for fencing and other expenditures, plus an emergency gambit that many conservatives view as an executive overreach.
Defiant and assertive, you say? Golly!
Republicans, for their part, are doing an admirable job at pretending to be very mildly concerned over Trump’s constitutionally dubious gambit...before they inevitably fall into line behind him.
“I wish he wouldn’t have done it,” Sen. Chuck Grassley told Politico. “If [Trump] figures that Congress didn’t do enough and he’s got to do it, then I imagine we’ll find out whether he’s got the authority to do it by the courts.”
“In general, I’m not for running the government by emergency, nor spending money. The Constitution’s pretty clear: spending originates and is directed by Congress,” Sen. Rand Paul also told the website, adding: “So I’m not really for it.”
“In general,” and “not really” are truly the words of a principled statesman ready to take a bold stand for what he believes in.
Here are some other quotes from some extremely bootlick-y congressional Republicans who also spoke with Politico:
- “I have some concerns” - Sen. Roy Blunt.
- “I’m not enthusiastic about it” - Sen. Pat Toomey.
- “I always kind of take pause to the assertion of executive power” - Sen. Thom Tillis.
- “I think it’s fine” - Sen. Kevin Cramer.
Sounds like things are going great!