Senate Republicans Finally Begin to Give Up on Trump

Say what you will about the “maverick” John McCain’s stunning vote to allow debate on Trumpcare only to turn around and vote the proposed bill down within a few days of learning about his brain tumor the defeat of that bill appears to have finally been the last straw for Senate Republicans, the NYT reports. Despite repeated promises from our scandal-prone president to win so hard that everybody would be tired of it, the man—and subsequently his alleged party—have yet to win much of anything at all. The Republican party controls every branch of government, and yet, they can’t seem to enact significant legislation of any kind.

Although Trump continually attempts to bully lawmakers into doing his bidding—most recently by threatening to take away Senators’ healthcare—Trump’s threats are increasingly ignored by a dissatisfied congress. (Lisa Murkowski’s steadfast “no” vote in the face of his organized pressure campaign in Alaska may be the most prominent recent example.”

“We’ve got other things to do,” says Senator John Thune, and, “It’s time to move on,” according to Senator Roy Blunt. Senator John Cornyn took it a step further and slyly remarked that, “I don’t think [Trump]’s got much experience in the Senate, as I recall. And he’s got a big job. He ought to do that job and let us do our job.”

And although those Senators are ready to move on, others are downright regretful of ever supporting Trump in the first place. Trump inexplicably remains popular with the conservative voting base, but as Senator Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona, writes in his new book, Conscience of a Conservative,“If this was our Faustian bargain… then it was not worth it.”

While it may feel like a relatively quick turnaround to abandon their president (it may only be seven months but it’s felt like 12 years at this point), it still seems crazy that it’s taken even this long.