Sen. Rick Scott is so angry about former President Donald J. Trump’s felony conviction that the Florida Republican says he and his colleagues need to take it out on the Senate by acting as disruptors and rejecting all Biden nominees and legislation. Block government.
“We cannot continue as before,” Mr. Scott insisted as the Senate met this week for the first time since Mr. Trump’s trial in New York ended with a deluge of “guilty” verdicts.
But at least so far everything is going as usual.
Although the far-right conservative bloc has vowed to defeat White House nominees and Democratic lawmakers, three nominees — one of them a judge for the usually hard-pressed District of Columbia — passed through the Senate this week with ample Republican support .
Clearly, not everyone on the GOP side is willing to take such a hard line in a fit of rancor. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader who has repeatedly clashed with his right wing and has historically done more than perhaps anyone else in his party to stymie Democratic candidates and initiatives, botched the effort.
“The solution is to have a Republican majority,” he told reporters. “There are opportunities when you’re in the minority, but not to set the agenda.”
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah has led the charge in the Senate to botch the work in retaliation for Mr. Trump’s conviction, and 11 of his fellow Republicans have signed a pledge he made to vote against Democratic candidates and bills. The problem for the signatories is that they typically already vote against almost everything from the other side, reducing the impact of their threat to block the Senate.
“If there are a handful of people who vote no all the time, then threatening to vote no really doesn’t bring much impact,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota, who did not accept the Lee pledge me and I undoubtedly hope that a major agricultural law will be passed at some point.
A further complication for the rebels is that there simply aren’t that many major pieces of legislation left to kill this year, and the rest — including the farm bill and a key Pentagon policy measure — will need to be bipartisan to succeed anyway be.
But the right will not be deterred.
“I’m thrilled with those who have joined us so far,” Mr Lee said. “I think we have to respond – if not in this way, then in another way. I’m open to ideas.”
The day after Mr. Trump’s conviction, Mr. Lee, a former Trump critic turned loyal supporter, released a statement on the social media platform that the White House “made a mockery of the rule of law and fundamentally changed our politics in an un-American way,” even though the New York trial was a state case with no connection to the Biden administration.
As a result of the process, the statement said the signatories would not support increases in non-security appropriations or spending bills to fund “partisan legislation.” In addition, it said they would not vote to confirm political or judicial nominees or agree to expedited consideration or passage of Democratic bills unrelated to public safety.
“We all represent our constituencies, and Iowans are fed up with the Biden administration,” said Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, the fourth-ranking Republican and the only member of party leadership to sign the pledge. “So this is a way to support my fellow Iowans and counter the Biden administration.”
While the effectiveness of the promise may be in doubt in the Senate, it has the advantage of giving Republicans a new opportunity to express their loyalty to Mr. Trump after the trial is over and lawmakers can no longer come to New York to strengthen him . At least two of the signees, Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and JD Vance of Ohio, are considered top vice presidential candidates for the Trump ticket.
The promise also appears to contain some loopholes. Sen. Roger Marshall, the Kansas Republican and signatory, voted for a Biden nominee for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week, despite previously saying on X that “words are not enough” to counter the Biden administration.
“I’m more focused on judicial nominations,” Mr. Marshall said.
Sen. Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, said his support of the pledge would not stop him from pushing for passage of key radiation compensation legislation he has championed, pointing out that the pledge is for him given its opposition by the Majority doesn’t represent a big change to things on the floor.
“It’s really not a change for me,” he said.
Even if the number of signatories is not large, those who sign the declaration could force cumbersome procedural votes that take up Senate floor time and annoy their colleagues – although they have so far refrained from such moves.
And while the Senate could move forward with nominations, Republicans could cause problems for Democrats if they decided to unite. With Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, who recently switched party affiliation to independent, facing trial on corruption charges in his homeland, Democrats have not a single vote left in the Senate by a vote of 51-49. At the same time, another recently declared independent, Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, has said he will not choose a Biden judicial nominee who does not have bipartisan support, potentially putting Democrats in a bind.
Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he was concerned about the GOP’s promise because it would be wrong to punish nominees for something beyond their control.
“There are many competent and capable candidates for judicial vacancies across the country and they should not get carried away by current politics,” he said.
But as Mr. Cramer, the North Dakota Republican, assessed his colleagues’ position, he noted that commitments like those made after the Trump verdict could complicate life for those who make the same commitment as their intended target.
“I do believe that you can handcuff yourself,” he said, “if you think that you have actually handcuffed someone else.”
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2024-06-05 18:48:08
www.nytimes.com
