Russell Berman: “Republicans in Congress have largely wasted the primary month of their new majorities bickering over how a lot spending to chop, which points to prioritize, and what number of payments to place ahead. Whether or not they have the votes to enact their formidable agenda stays unclear, however they’ve proven that they’ve simply sufficient to meet an equally vital objective: be sure that President Donald Trump can wage his assault on the federal authorities unimpeded.”
“Underneath the GOP’s watch, Congress has put up nearly no resistance whereas Trump and Elon Musk have shut down companies, sidelined hundreds of federal workers, and stopped congressionally authorized funds. As an alternative of defending their constitutional authority over spending, Republicans have cheered Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity and mocked Democrats for his or her protests…”
“The GOP’s acquiescence is yet another signal of how tightly Trump now controls his occasion. But it surely additionally reveals one thing elementary about Republicans’ haphazard makes an attempt over the previous twenty years to cut back the scale and scope of presidency. For all the occasion’s fulminating in regards to the nation’s debt and deficits, Republican lawmakers have shied away from taking votes to slash spending that might show unpopular with voters. Now they’re content material to let another person intestine the federal government for them—and take no matter political warmth comes with it.”
