Republicans routed as Democrats gain powerful new leverage over Trump for remainder of his presidency
Democrats have regained control of the US Senate, routing Republicans nationwide with historic victories that will give them powerful new leverage over Donald Trump for the remainder of his presidency.
Democrats will soon have the ability to hold up not just Trump’s legislative agenda, but also any appointments he makes to his cabinet or the federal judiciary – including the supreme court, where conservatives have a 6-3 majority.
It’s enough to get an actual trial in the Senate, though. The last two times, the Senate acquitted without calling any witnesses. This time they can make it a lot more politically costly to acquit.
I do like your optimism, but I think elevating JD Vance to president at this stage is a bad idea. It would be a circus and a distraction from more important matters. It was one thing when Pence was VP who at least had some moral fiber left and it could have removed the possibility of a second term. It’s another thing with a lame duck president whose VP lies just as easily and openly as he does.
Vance doesn’t seem like he has much in the way of principles or spine, so he’d probably be more amenable to compromise, and in any case it’d be worth it just to make an example out of Trump.
Removing the president isn’t the point, and it’s something the GOP needs to do sooner or later (and today’s results suggest sooner). Still, any opportunity to haul Trump over the coals should be taken IMO. Accountability is as much about the process as the result, and it’s not just Trump who needs to be held accountable, but everyone he has appointed and everyone who is backing him. Trump himself is a good place to start, even recognizing that Trump is the symptom, not the disease.