A week into Trump’s new term, Republicans are flunking Democracy 101
Congress’ Republican majority has a
responsibility to serve as a check on Trump’s ambitions — but it doesn’t want
to exercise its responsibilities.
Jan. 27, 2025, 12:31 PM CST
By Steve Benen
Under existing law, presidents are required to give Congress no less than
30 days’ advance notice before ousting inspectors general. What’s more,
according to the same law, it’s incumbent on the White House to provide
lawmakers with a “substantive rationale” for removing IGs.
Late last week, Donald Trump decided to ignore that law and fire at least a dozen inspectors general without cause. When the
president engaged in similar tactics in 2020, congressional Republicans made their displeasure known.
More than four years later, they’ve changed their minds.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham appeared on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” and
conceded that the firings appeared to be “technically”
illegal, but the South Carolinian endorsed the move anyway. When Republican
Sen. Tommy Tuberville was asked for his reaction, the Alabaman replied, “[Trump’s] the boss.”
Except, of course, he’s not actually the boss. While
it’s true that many executive branch officials serve at his pleasure,
presidents lead one of three co-equal branches of government. Checks and
balances were not repealed on Election Day 2024. Neither was the rule of law.
But for many GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill, the idea that Trump is “the
boss” is quickly becoming ingrained.
Unqualified Cabinet nominees? Most Republicans are going along.
Pardons for violent felons who assaulted police? Many Republicans are toeing the party line.
Ignoring the TikTok law? Many Republicans are shrugging with indifference.
Ignoring the law on inspectors general? Many Republicans simply don’t care.
Fresh corruption allegations? Many Republicans are content to look the other way.
New attacks on Congress’ power of the purse? Many Republicans have endorsed the effort.
An executive order rejecting the foundational element to the 14th
Amendment? Some Republicans introduced legislation to give Trump a hand.
The White House is going to outlandish lengths to ensure that the president
doesn’t get any pushback from members of his own team, and given the state of
the Supreme Court, there are reports that Trump is prepared to “test the limits of the law by issuing policies he knows to be unlawful,”
assuming that Republican-appointed justices would side with him.
For those looking for governmental checks on the president’s ambitions,
that leaves Congress — featuring a Republican majority that doesn’t want to
exercise its responsibilities.
After Trump ignored the law pertaining to inspectors general, The New
York Times published an analysis that explained that the president
had effectively “declared that he was willing and even eager to push the
boundaries of his authority, the resilience of American institutions, the
strength of the nearly two-and-a-half-century-old system and the tolerance of
some of his own allies.”
The analysis added, “Even more than in his first term, he has
mounted a fundamental challenge to expectations of what a president can and
should do, demonstrating a belief that the rules his predecessors largely
followed are meant to be bent, bypassed or broken.”
The less congressional Republicans care, the more dangerous this becomes.
One GOP senator who has, to date, backed all of Trump’s nominees told NBC News that the party might eventually reach a
breaking point.
“We’ll only give so much,” the unnamed senator said. “Because this is the
future of the country. It’s not entertainment television.”
In theory, such a quote offers a glimmer of hope. In practice, given the
number of shrugged Republican shoulders we’ve seen over the past week, I’ll
believe in the existence of GOP lawmakers’ spines when I see some evidence.
