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.
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.
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.
You’re not wrong and I don’t necessarily disagree with you. But I would be prioritizing legislation to fix things over trying and failing to remove via impeachment.
I also believe that accountability is necessary. Investigations and preparation of criminal charges should begin immediately.
Absolutely. It’s not an either/or situation and I’m very wary of the senators who are framing it as such. They need to walk and chew gum at the same time, which was never a problem for the Republicans.
Well, that last point I disagree with. How much legislation have republicans passed despite controlling all three branches of government in the last 2 years? The only thing they know is sound bites for their propaganda and obstruction of anything that would actually benefit Americans.
You don’t need legislation, you can just do things. You can’t say they haven’t done much, it just didn’t go through the house or senate.
That’s a good point, and it supports mine in fact. The legislation I want would be something like health care reform. When the administration’s goals aren’t and were never to create lasting meaningful change for the average citizen, when the judiciary rubber stamps things we all know are wrong, the legislative process becomes obsolete.
We aren’t measuring success by the same metrics as they are.
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.
Yeah, but that’s the problem. If he’s spineless then there’s a good chance someone else would be pulling his strings.