New York Times writer Lulu Garcia-Navarro says Congress’ approval rating is at a “dreadful 15 percent,” and President Donald Trump’s own polling is at dismal levels. Yet, Congressional Republicans can’t seem to release their death grip on the unpopular president.
Former lawmakers also accuse Congress of allowing President Donald Trump to walk over them and usurp power.
“Abdication,” said former Sen. Joe Manchin, when asked to describe Congress. “They’ve abdicated their responsibilities.”
“Those are … bleak words,” said Garcia-Navarro.
“You want us to call them cowards?” said former Sen. Joe Manchin.
Former Sen. Jeff Flake warned that presidents always push the limit in terms of executive orders, but added that “Trump is doing that in spades. That’s why you need a Senate willing to stand up.”
Retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith also called Congress “broken,” and said she was glad to be retiring with a host of political attacks and Trump saying “that two of my colleagues and four members of the House of Representatives should be tried for treason and executed.”
Flake recalled in 2005 when former Rep. Tom Delay demanded a GOP lawmaker be able to pass a piece of legislation with just Republican votes before bringing it to the floor for consideration.
“’And if it might gather bipartisan votes, then knock some provisions off so it won’t be attractive and then use that as a cudgel during the next election,’” Flake recalled DeLay saying. “You had people mature as politicians under that system, and some of them have gone to the Senate.
Manchin complained today of “guilt by conversation” in the House and Senate, where “you can’t even be seen having a conversation with someone who might not be on the same side.”
Flake said that, “in a functioning legislative body, you would think that the Democratic leader and the Republican leader would talk to each other all the time, to try to figure things out, to try to get things going. It just doesn’t happen anymore.”
Manchin and Flake both bemoaned a president who could bully lawmakers into ducking the will of their voters by threatening to field opponents to primary them if they “don’t do what I say.” Manchin called for congressional term limits but also open primaries.
All agreed that Trump was seizing power with the help of the Republican majority, but also felt they saw “cracks in the façade” with the departure of Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, as people realize that “it’s popular now to be against the president on a couple of issues and in order to survive the general election.”
Read the New York Times report at this link.
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