Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
GOP pushes past senators’ barbs
As Corker, Flake rip president, others move on
WASHINGTON — For many Republicans in Congress, the senators who have raised their voices against President Donald Trump displayed principles, integrity and heartfelt concerns.
But don’t expect others to follow that lead.
Despite the dire assessments of retiring Republican Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee — Corker worries Trump is debasing the nation, Flake regrets the erosion of civil norms — other GOP members still appear more focused on the promise of a president in the White House who can sign Republican bills into law.
On Wednesday, Republicans quickly returned back to business, rushing to unveil tax-cut legislation next week in hopes of passing a bill in the House by Thanksgiving, and sending it to the president’s desk by the year end.
Although even on an issue that tends to unite the party, a fissure appeared.
The head of the House tax-writing panel would not rule out changes to the 401(k) retirement program to raise revenue for tax cuts, despite Trump’s promise that the popular savings plan used by tens of millions of Americans will be untouched.
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Kevin Brady said Wednesday he’s discussing the 401(k) issue with Trump.
Trump later told reporters that “401(k)s are very important,” noting their benefits for the middle class. And while he praised Brady as “fantastic,” he said it was unwise to negotiate on any changes to the tax code’s treatment of retirement plans.
Meanwhile, though other Senate colleagues have shared some of Flake’s and Corker’s views about Trump, none said so publicly after remarks from the two.
Most shrugged when asked if they, too, are uneasy about the president’s conduct and actions. Many declined to pile on to the criticism or rile Trump supporters back home. Others attempted to downplay the rift, dismissing the senators’ complaints as personality clashes.
“Instead of focusing on the president, I have enough criticisms of Congress — our unwillingness to do things,” said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan. “My view is my time and energy is better spent trying to solve the problems I’m directly involved in.”
Rep. Tom Reed, a member of the House Ways and Means tax-writing committee and an early Trump backer, said that as a New Yorker he understands that people in other parts of the country are uncomfortable with the president’s style.
“He’s a disrupter. When you disrupt the status quo, the status quo doesn’t roll over, it’s going to fight back,” he said. “From a New Yorker’s perspective, meh. I get the concern . ... Overall, I’m comfortable.”
But the public dissent exposed the challenges for the Republican Party, which has splintered even further since Trump won its presidential nomination.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan — and much of their majorities — continue to bet that it’s best to try to work with the White House, even if they bristle at the president’s uneven style and temperament, in hopes of molding Trump to their policy positions. Their goal is to eventually join in billsigning ceremonies on GOP priorities in the Rose Garden.
Others, though, see a deeper societal churn underway, not only in the Republican Party, but in the nation’s broader civil institutions, which are confronting new questions about their purpose and relevance at a time of cultural unrest.
“Do we honestly think the president created this? … This is what we’ve become as a society,” said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., during an interview with reporters Wednesday.
“The Republican Party is going through a moment of realignment internally — an internal debate about what the party’s going to be about, what it’s going to represent in years to come,” he said. “And by the way, so is every institution in America — from higher education to the media. Everyone is going through the exact same internal debate, and that is: What is our role and function in this new era?”
As a former presidential rival of Trump’s, Rubio has experience in this realm, having stooped to trash talk on the campaign trail when Trump derided him as “Li’l Marco” only to see the mudslinging backfire and sully his own image.
Rubio questioned whether the United States is losing its social mooring much the way Rome did before the empire’s decline.
“The president has a way of expressing himself, and it’s appealed to a lot of very frustrated people . ... By the same token, we have to understand that a republic really can’t function unless there are some norms of behavior . ... Having some sort of balance in how we interact with one another is not just a nice thing to do. A republic actually can’t function without that.”
Rubio added, “How can you possibly work together on issues if everybody hates each other?”