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Through it all, Trump obsessively pursues any tactics that might overturn the election results, spurring an already failed effort by a small group of House Republicans to challenge the Electoral College results in Congress on January 6. and lash out at any Republican who questions the success of the efforts – even threatening Republican No. 2 in the Senate with a primary over his opposition to the futile effort.
“He’s disturbing himself,” a GOP aide told CNN.
While Congress is already expected to return to Washington next week to potentially overturn Trump’s veto on the defense clearance bill, Trump’s latest criticism of the stimulus package and the government spending bill could prove even more thorny if it follows a veto – a move that at a minimum could delay any help reaching Americans.
It’s impossible to predict how many Republicans will continue to support a package that Trump has so publicly criticized. This has left aides on both sides of the aisle attempting to eliminate worst case scenarios – including a government shutdown that could last until Trump’s term ends.
If Trump waits to veto the bill, it may give the current Congress little or no time to overturn it. If that happens, a newly sworn in Congress that includes a larger Republican minority would have to vote again on the legislation. And, as Congress passed a continuous seven-day resolution to ensure the government does not shut down while the larger bill was being processed, that funding was running out at midnight Monday.
Republican House lawmakers held a private appeal on Wednesday afternoon to discuss next steps in the face of Trump’s threats to scuttle the coronavirus relief program. Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy said Trump has not made an explicit commitment to veto stimulus and government funding legislation so far, according to a caller.
McCarthy ambiguously told House Republicans they needed to find a way to address the president’s concerns, but that did not ease the frustration of some members. Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska, said Trump threw Republicans, who voted for the package in large numbers, “under the bus,” with his panning of the bill on Tuesday night, according to a person at the ‘call.
Texas Rep. Kay Granger, the lead Republican on the credits panel, warned that Trump’s decision to attack the bill had already hurt his prospects to a dangerous degree in terms of whether or not it would be signed.
At least one member of the appeal mentioned the possibility of Republicans on TV touting the bill’s positive elements – a tacit acknowledgment that this is where Trump gets his information, the person said.
In an attempt to prevent any further leaks from occurring which revealed the party was divided, McCarthy ultimately cut questions during the call, according to a person familiar with the call, a sign of the delicate balance the GOP leaders are marching thanks to the threat of Trump. to the expenditure bill.
By January 6, Republicans could be put in an even more difficult position if Trump’s House allies get the backing of a senator to oppose the Electoral College results, forcing votes in both chambers on whether to reject a state’s electoral votes. It’s a politically toxic vote for Republicans, forcing them to choose between standing with Trump or honoring the will of voters.
Behind the scenes, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has actively discouraged Senate Republicans from joining the effort. Senate Majority Whip John Thune publicly rejected one to challenge the election results in a joint session of Congress, saying he would “fall like a hound.”
‘This is unlike anything I have ever seen’
For McConnell and Thune, simply stating the obvious – that Joe Biden is the president-elect in McConnell’s case, that a ground effort to reverse the results would catastrophically fail in Thune – served as the ultimate betrayal for Trump.
Trump’s aide stunned GOP senators when an unsolicited email appeared with a PowerPoint slide showing McConnell’s poll in his 2020 Senate competition. Trump seemed to believe it showed his endorsement of McConnell, and a subsequent robocall on his behalf was crucial to McConnell’s victory.
McConnell won his race by almost 20 points.
In the case of Thune, the president wasted little time bringing his 280-character blowtorch to a popular Republican conference member considered one of the top candidates for GOP leadership when McConnell leaves.
“The Republicans in the Senate forget so quickly. Right now they would lose 8 seats without my backing them in the last election. RINO John Thune, ‘Mitch’s boy,’ should just let it play out. South does not like weakness. It will be awarded in 2022, political career over !!! “
Trump’s eyebrows on his fellow Republicans in Congress follow a familiar pattern that has occurred throughout his presidential term, where at various times a GOP Senator or House Member would raise concerns, only to deal with the wrath of Trump’s social media.
What followed, according to several lawmakers who experienced it, was an explosion in their home states or districts. Offices were barred with angry calls and key challenges explored by local recruiters who pledged unwavering loyalty to Trump.
“It is unlike anything I have ever seen,” a GOP senator told CNN. “You blackmail yourself once and realize that OK, there’s no real benefit in going back that way.”
It’s a reality that has infuriated Democrats, many of whom regularly talk about hearing privately from their GOP colleagues how unseemly they find Trump’s behavior. “But always in private. Always,” a Democratic senator told CNN. “What an embarrassment.”
Congress could overturn Trump’s veto on NDAA
As such, Republicans have repeatedly lined up behind Trump, fearing a reprimand from Twitter or throwing his weight behind a challenger who prompted some of Trump’s early Republican critics to step down or take their position. retirement.
But Congressional Republicans could finally push back Trump’s final days. The first test of the effectiveness of Trump’s final loyalty demands could take place on Monday, when the House scheduled a vote to override Trump’s veto on the National Defense Authorization Act. In his veto message on Wednesday, Trump said the bill was a “gift” to China and Russia, a criticism that has baffled lawmakers and aides on both sides.
The annual Defense Policy Bill has been passed every year for six decades. The legislation provides for salary increases for service members and typically passes with a veto-proof bipartisan majority in both chambers, just as it did earlier this month.
Trump, in effect, is asking Republicans to stand by his side and vote against the troops. He demanded that the bill include the repeal of a law that offers legal protections to social media companies, even if it is unrelated to defense legislation. And he wants to remove a provision that would lead to the renaming of the bases named for the Confederate leaders.
The bill, known on Capitol Hill as the NDAA and named this year after the retirement of GOP Rep. Mac Thornberry of Texas, passed earlier this month 335-78, easily clearing a majority of both third without veto, Republicans voting 140-40 to favor. But Parliamentary Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise have said they will vote to support Trump’s veto, as have the president’s Senate allies Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Josh Hawley of Missouri.
It’s still unclear how many Republicans will join them. A group of House Republican Armed Services Committee leaders, including Thornberry, a leading panel member, released a statement last week touting the bill’s cyber provisions following the massive government data breach US and private companies, saying the legislation provides “critical safeguards to protect the information and capabilities most fundamental to the security of our country.”
The statement did not mention Trump or his veto threat, however.
The 37 Democrats who voted against the bill can also switch sides to overturn the veto, meaning fewer Republicans would need to rebuke Trump for the veto reversal to be successful. If the House overrules the veto, McConnell has taken steps to ensure that the Senate can hold the same vote, which may not happen until the hours before the new Congress is sworn in on January 3. The Senate passed the bill 84-13 earlier this month.
GOP plots to force votes on electoral college results
The fight for the Defense Authorization Bill is just a prelude to a larger battle in Trump’s mind: Congress counts the electoral college votes on January 6.
There is no doubt about the result of the Electoral College tally: there is no way for Republicans to change the result with Democrats controlling the House. But Trump has turned to voting as the latest stand for his baseless and false claims that the election was stolen from him, and he has a group of willing Republican allies leading the charge.
Rep. Mo Brooks, the Alabama Republican leading the effort, predicted that Senate Republicans will join the objection, though none have pledged to do so. When Senator-elect Tommy Tuberville of Alabama signaled he was open to opposition, Trump called him out and publicly praised him.
It would be quite a first part for Tuberville to run into McConnell, who is famous for keeping his Senate conference united, but it could be an early sign of how Trump will continue to have an influence among his Republican supporters even after he leaves. of the White House. .
“Tommy Tuberville serving as a tea leaf for the future of the Republican Party was not on my bingo card,” a senior GOP official with close ties to Senate leadership said with a laugh. “But seriously, he better have some good advisers on this. According to last month, his current job is the last place I want my boss to be.”
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