Comey crisis could bedevil Trump on health care, tax
Congress reels from Comey’s fallout
US Republicans struggling to pass a health care overhaul and tax reform this year have seen their path narrow, as Congress reels from fallout over President Donald Trump’s firing of his FBI director. The shock dismissal of James Comey-and the White House’s bungling of the aftermath-has triggered distress on Capitol Hill, with Democrats and Republicans increasingly preoccupied with how Trump’s action affects investigations into his team’s possible collusion with Russia.
The resulting chaos has antagonized some moderate Republicans, who had hoped to move on from the cycles of controversy that have marked the administration’s first four months and forge consensus on legislative priorities. Trump campaigned heavily on pledges to repeal and replace Obamacare and reform the tax code. Both are monumental tasks, and while Congress can act with due speed when it wishes, its chambers are paralyzed by gridlock. Seamless bipartisan cooperation is a fantasy on Capitol Hill in 2017, and some say the Comey hue and cry will only make it more difficult to cooperate on big-ticket legislation.
“Certainly there is a case to be made that it will be more polarizing and more partisan, not less,” Republican Senator Tim Scott said Thursday as he contemplated prospects for getting a controversial Obamacare repeal bill through the Senate. Even staunch conservatives acknowledged that the latest political uproar-parts of which have unfolded like a spy novel, including subpoenas of Trump’s former national security advisor Michael Flynn and hints of clandestine White House recordings-is cutting into congressional efforts to move forward.
“I’d say it’s a distraction,” warned Orrin Hatch, the Senate’s longest-serving Republican. Complicating the schedule in coming months is a series of fiscal deadlines, including passing a spending bill by September 30 and negotiating a raise of the debt ceiling, that could suck up weeks if not months of valuable Washington legislative time. With Comey’s departure, another hiccup to the already tight timing: a potentially protracted Senate confirmation process for a new FBI director.
‘Walk and chew gum’
House Speaker Paul Ryan stressed that Congress can move forward with its 2017 legislative priorities despite three full congressional Russia-related investigations and the Comey disaster. “We can walk and chew gum at the same time,” he told Fox News. “We’ve got a full plate of things that we think are necessary, not only to fulfill our promises, but making sure that we get the economy growing.” The top Republican in Congress said Tuesday the US Senate could pass a health care bill before the August recess, and that lawmakers would finish tax reform by year end, but the calendar window is narrowing. — AFP