Washington intrigue.
As Democrats move to block Trump's emergency declaration over the wall, Republicans are faced with a dilemma.
If the Mueller report comes out with damning evidence that Republicans cannot deny, it is not a zero chance that Pelosi becomes acting President until January 2021. After all, Pence is so tied up in Trump's campaign and administration, there may just be enough to push for his impeachment too.
And if so... then setting a precedence for executive overreach is not going to work out for the Republicans. In that one year while she is in power, she may use that precedence against the Republicans, and the Republicans will have no one else to blame.
So Republicans are faced with a choice:
1. Pray that Mueller has nothing. Stick with Trump's emergency declaration, and do not override his veto when it happens. Given the number of indictments to date on this case, hindsight may make them look like ostriches sticking their heads in the sand. But who knows? It is a political gamble, and some may be willing to take it.
2. Override Trump's veto when it happens. Break from Trump before the bad news from Mueller breaks, so that Trump doesn't end up dragging the entire GOP with him when he goes down. This may even be used to strike a deal with the Democrats (behind closed doors) to keep Pence. But of course, this will bring the Twitter wrath of Trump, so it is a political gamble that the GOP will be able to survive without Trump.
So it all boils down to Mueller. If Mueller remains tight-lipped, the GOP will need to take a gamble. But if Mueller lets slip some info to the GOP on where his report is going, the GOP will then be able to make a better assessment of the situation in choosing between Option 1 or 2 (probably 2, given all the indications to date).
And there is an Option 3: Trump declares war somewhere in the world (Iran, or most likely, Venezuela), and basically forces everyone to keep him in power so as not to risk the US losing a war through presidential impeachment. Dirty trick that ends up with people getting killed, but nothing is beyond or below Trump.
I guess this will be a week of backroom deals...
🤔
As Democrats move to block Trump's emergency declaration over the wall, Republicans are faced with a dilemma.
If the Mueller report comes out with damning evidence that Republicans cannot deny, it is not a zero chance that Pelosi becomes acting President until January 2021. After all, Pence is so tied up in Trump's campaign and administration, there may just be enough to push for his impeachment too.
And if so... then setting a precedence for executive overreach is not going to work out for the Republicans. In that one year while she is in power, she may use that precedence against the Republicans, and the Republicans will have no one else to blame.
So Republicans are faced with a choice:
1. Pray that Mueller has nothing. Stick with Trump's emergency declaration, and do not override his veto when it happens. Given the number of indictments to date on this case, hindsight may make them look like ostriches sticking their heads in the sand. But who knows? It is a political gamble, and some may be willing to take it.
2. Override Trump's veto when it happens. Break from Trump before the bad news from Mueller breaks, so that Trump doesn't end up dragging the entire GOP with him when he goes down. This may even be used to strike a deal with the Democrats (behind closed doors) to keep Pence. But of course, this will bring the Twitter wrath of Trump, so it is a political gamble that the GOP will be able to survive without Trump.
So it all boils down to Mueller. If Mueller remains tight-lipped, the GOP will need to take a gamble. But if Mueller lets slip some info to the GOP on where his report is going, the GOP will then be able to make a better assessment of the situation in choosing between Option 1 or 2 (probably 2, given all the indications to date).
And there is an Option 3: Trump declares war somewhere in the world (Iran, or most likely, Venezuela), and basically forces everyone to keep him in power so as not to risk the US losing a war through presidential impeachment. Dirty trick that ends up with people getting killed, but nothing is beyond or below Trump.
I guess this will be a week of backroom deals...
🤔
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