Time for GOP to stand up

President Donald Trump’s mission to undermine the next presidential administration took a dark new turn last week, with dire implications for struggling business owners. Treasury Secretary StevenMnuchin moved to end emergency lending programmes by the end of December and claw back hundreds of billions in unspent funding.

Mnuchin on Thursday informed the Federal Reserve he won’t extend several major emergency lending programmes for businesses beyond the end of the year. The Fed responded with a rare public rebuke, suggesting the move threatens “our still strained and vulnerable economy”. Mnuchin denies politics had any role in his decision.

There are strong reasons not to believe that. One is that Republicans outside Trump’s circle and independent voices are expressing alarm about the move.

Then there’s the timing of the announcement, as the pandemic rages, businesses are hurting and Congress has failed to pass a new relief package. How America fares after Trump leaves office will depend largely on whether he is allowed to spend his remaining weeks burning everything down.

The GOP must either stand up and stop him or go down in history as his accomplices. There is no in-between.