Donald Trump will be remembered for a lot of things — liar, convicted criminal, authoritarian. Master legislator will not be one of them. In fact, it takes a special type of arrogance and incompetence to achieve so many legislative failures when you control both Houses of Congress.
But on Wednesday, Trump continued that string of failures.
With the clock ticking toward summer recess and the November elections, Trump continues to call on John Thune to pass the SAVE America Act in the Senate. The problem is that Thune knows how to count and doesn’t have the votes. Apparently, math is not Trump’s strong suit.
Over the last year, Trump has thrown tantrum after tantrum to get the SAVE America Act passed. He refused to reopen the then-shutdown Department of Homeland Security. He swore he wouldn’t sign any other bills until Congress sent the SAVE America Act to his desk. He even demanded Republicans kill the filibuster or fire the Senate parliamentarian.
Now, Trump is pushing for a third reconciliation package centered around the anti-voting bill. If Thune doesn’t get it done, Trump suggested to reporters that the majority leader might be looking at a change in job title. “We will find out, and I will let you know,” Trump said.
For Trump, the only job qualification that matters is subservience to him. And Thune — who is willing to debase himself — still doesn’t quite meet the mark.
Thune isn’t the only Senate Republican who is displeased with the president. With the November elections fast approaching, most GOP senators believe that Trump’s obsession with the anti-voting bill will hurt their chances in November. But, of course, they won’t speak out in public. Cowards one and all.
Senate drama aside, Trump’s fixation on the SAVE America Act points to a bigger picture. He doesn’t care about crafting legislation that will help the American people. He doesn’t care about passing a meaningful bill. He doesn’t care about a functioning Congress.
Trump cares about holding onto power — and to do that, he needs to steal the election by making it harder for Democrats to vote and easier for Republicans to cheat...