Well, it seems Republican Congress Critters are afraid of getting blamed for DOGE. As Gomer Pyle would say well ‘Surprise, Surprise Surprise!” Given the mayhem Trump has allowed Elon Musk and his little gang of tech terrorists to foment, and the many effects yet to come (but the forces have been unleashed and ARE coming) I can see why elected GOP types are desperate to distance themselves from the whole thing. However they are between the Trump Rock and the DOGE hard place and it’s squeezing in. Unless Trump himself trashes Musk and DOGE they have to be careful about being too openly critical. If being caught in ‘The Big Squeeze’ is making these asshats uncomfortable I have zero sympathy for them.
Still according to reporting including this article from MSNBC Republicans on Capitol Hill are trying to distance themselves from DOGE and Musk. THEY know those angry people who have shown up to town halls for colleagues that at least had the guts to hold them aren’t a bunch of Democratic plants. Nope, it’s THEIR voters/constituents giving them unshirted hell. And that it’s going to get worse. The linked article starts out noting the harm that’s already taken place, but more importantly that the WH is pushing Congress to take legislative action to back it all up. Even more importantly it states that even though the first proposal is to cover/authorize only a fraction of DOGE’s cuts Congress (by which I mean the Republican part) is trying to avoid anything that involves taking responsibility for the mess.
Ok, so some GOPers have said this or that shouldn’t have been done, or shouldn’t be done. Or expressed “concerns” (channeling Susan Collins and her furrowed brow while expressing ‘deep concern’) about some of the information Musk’s gang is gaining access to. And copying! (Don’t for one second think they don’t copy any data they get access to!)Â But let’s face it – the GOP response has been lukewarm at best. These are NOT people who would be candidates for a JFK Profile in Courage Award. In any case I’d encourage you to read the linked article because it details the budgetary issues Trump and Congress face. How Trump has created his own problem, and how Congress unwillingness to rise up with one voice and denounce DOGE from the beginning has Congress (Republicans) in a bind too.
If they’d had guts, Congressional Republicans could have joined with Democrats to, right off the bat pass a bill outlawing DOGE. Denying Musk and his little helpers access to govt. offices and databases. Even criminalizing violations. Trump of course could have vetoed it but had the GOP banded together said veto could have been overridden. It would also have sent a message to Trump to stick to tax cuts for the rich and deregulation. And maybe some general but vague Executive Orders about seeking out waste, fraud and abuse. Of course Republicans have been either in the tank for Trump or terrified of him. Again, no one should be surprised. In fact there were three things we knew for certain when Trump was sworn in for (incredibly) the second time:
- COWARDICE runs rampant in the GOP including in the Republicans on Capitol Hill. There was never a snowballs chance in hell of a large portion of them standing up to Trump no matter how hairbrained his schemes and policies. No matter how much damage everyone knew they’d do both at home and abroad.
- Trump had no interest in doing the job of President. In fact he’s had less interest than his first term. His main goal in getting re-elected was to stave off additional criminal convictions. Convictions that would result in jail time or at least house arrest with few of the amenities he believes are his birthright. Musk got him into the WH again and if the payoff was Musk leading all this DOGE stuff then what did Trump care about the damage it would cause? He has very much had the “I got mine, YOU can go f**k off” attitude.
3. DOGE would be every bit the disaster we expected. Worse than we even imagined in fact. And, as I said it’s already proven to be just that. Worse, we know there is far more and far worse to come. I’m reminded of the movie Armageddon and those initial devastating meteor showers. Bad as they were they were nothing compared to what was coming. As in the movie we ‘have the technology’ (Congressional action) to save ourselves. What we DON’T have are enough Republicans to make up their half of each shuttle team! Literally. (In the movie it was only seven or eight people on each of the two shuttles) It’s likely what in the military or certain intelligence operations a ‘no return’ mission. That means it’s likely a one way trip that ends with the death of those who volunteer. Cleary GOPers are afraid Trump will “kill them” politically.
We are in for some interesting goings on in the weeks and months ahead. Try as they do desperately want to and just hide away on the sidelines Republicans are going to have to make a choice. Either of which comes with political costs as in loss of their seats for them. We can hope, and even encourage some of these people to recognize they are screwed either way. And decide to be able to look their kids and grandkids in the eye and say they tried to make up for allowing Trump (and DOGE) in the first place.
I’ll leave you with the last part of the linked article (really, it’s worth the two or three minutes to read) which sums things up:
So then why are only foreign aid and public broadcasting budgets allegedly being brought forward to Congress for rescission? If the Trump administration has more savings it can proudly recommend to at least 50 Republican senators, why is it so slow to bring those forward? While DOGE continues to pursue unlawful impoundments, why isn’t a friendly majority-Republican Congress clamoring to share in the credit by voting these attempted cuts into law?
The answer is clear: More than 100 days since the White House began illegally impounding funds, it seems that no one wants to publicly own DOGE’s actions that continue to hurt people across the country. But try as Republicans might to hide the results, the Trump administration has shown that even without producing a lot of budgetary savings, it is possible to do a lot of harm.
***Zoomers, we are always in need of donations. It’s been an especially rough month and my own health has not been great these past few weeks, which just adds to the frustration. Anything you can spare will be immensely appreciated. And thank you to all who have donated generously already. Ursula***
republicant’s governmenting!