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Trump Releases Supercharged MAGA Agenda02/06 06:23

   President Donald Trump is testing how far Republicans are willing to go in 
supporting his supercharged "Make America Great Again" agenda, tearing down 
government agencies and taking actions fundamentally at odds with 
once-traditional party principles.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- President Donald Trump is testing how far Republicans are 
willing to go in supporting his supercharged "Make America Great Again" agenda, 
tearing down government agencies and taking actions fundamentally at odds with 
once-traditional party principles.

   For now, Republicans are marching largely in lockstep. They are backing 
Cabinet nominees with troubling histories, turning a blind eye as he halts 
spending they appropriated and defending policies once anathema to mainstream 
GOP thinking -- policies that would have drawn alarm if Democrats had been 
responsible.

   "They're pushing the envelope of what their power looks like. It's a normal 
part of a transition," said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

   While there have been isolated voices of dissent, the Republican resistance 
that emerged when Trump first ran for office has largely been sidelined. That 
means the president, backed by Republican majorities in the House and Senate, 
is proceeding largely unchecked as he reimagines the federal government and 
greatly expands the power of the presidency.

   "If there was any doubt about it, the Republican Party's complete 
acquiescence to Donald Trump, I think, was on full display this week," said 
Charlie Sykes, a longtime conservative commentator turned prominent Trump 
critic. Sykes described it as "complete surrender."

   In his view, "Republicans have just made the calculation that pretty much 
nothing is worth antagonizing Trump at this point."

   A new MAGA agenda

   The defense has come as Trump has embraced a series of proposals that go far 
beyond anything he did during his first term or promised on the campaign trail.

   Last week, he threatened trade wars with Mexico and Canada, two of America's 
top trading partners and closest allies. His tariffs are on hold for 30 days, 
but he has damaged the U.S. relationship with Canada, one of the nations with 
which the U.S. shares its most sensitive intelligence.

   On Tuesday, he suggested the U.S. seize control of Gaza, perhaps by force. 
He campaigned for the White House promising to end "forever wars" and the U.S. 
entanglement in the Middle East.

   He has proposed taking over Greenland, riffed on Canada becoming the 51st 
state and threatened to put the Panama Canal back under American control. He is 
pursuing state ownership of social media companies such as TikTok, perhaps 
through a government-owned U.S. sovereign wealth fund. That kind of 
intervention, if coming from Democrats, would almost certainly have been 
branded as a socialist move.

   After years of railing against unelected bureaucrats, Republicans are 
standing by as billionaire Elon Musk and his aides aim for the equivalent of a 
hostile takeover of government. That Trump-authorized team has seized taxpayer 
data, gained access to sensitive databases and government payment systems, and 
taken steps to close the U.S. Agency for International Development, which many 
Republicans long criticized but also saw as part of the U.S. efforts to counter 
China and Russia abroad.

   What's wrong with a president who wants loyalty?

   "The American people said we want a different direction," said Sen. Kevin 
Cramer, R-N.D., when asked about the moves against USAID and other agencies. "I 
don't find that outside the spirit of our system, and the courts will have to 
decide whether it's outside the literal boundaries of the president's 
authority."

   As for the trade taxes, he added, "Most Republicans aren't tariff fans, but 
they do understand why populism is the flavor of the day."

   "A lot of people, they talk about Trump loyalty like there's something wrong 
with a president that wants loyalty. And quite honestly, I would submit that 
loyalty is a pretty big and pretty important part of running a country," he 
added.

   Polling finds shifts in public's views on tariffs and intervention overseas

   Polling has shown voters have grown more opposed to expanding tariffs over 
the past four years. About half of voters (49%) in the November election 
favored increasing taxes on goods imported to the United States from other 
countries, compared with 6 in 10 voters in the 2020 presidential election who 
supported higher tariffs. Republican voters still largely favor the policy.

   There's also a shift against American intervention. Only about 2 in 10 (19%) 
voters in November said they wanted the U.S. to take a "more active" role in 
solving the world's problems. Republican voters, in particular, have shifted 
toward advocating a "less active" role. About half (53%) wanted the U.S. less 
involved, compared with about one-third in 2020.

   Cabinet coming together and the White House sees a 'strong, united and 
thriving' GOP

   Even Trump's most controversial nominees appear to be sailing through.

   This week, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a doctor who leads the Senate Health, 
Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, voted to advance the nomination of 
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary despite Kennedy's long history of 
anti-vaccine activism. Cassidy is up for reelection next year and has faced 
pressure from home-state Republicans to back Kennedy. Cassidy has made clear he 
had serious concerns about Kennedy's record.

   "Unlike the fractured and chaotic Democrat Party, the Republican Party 
stands strong, united and thriving," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields 
said. "There is nothing to resist --- President Trump received a clear and 
overwhelming mandate from the American people to Make America Great Again."

   Cracks in support?

   There has been some limited pushback from key allies.

   Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Trump should reconsider stripping security 
protection from former government officials who are under threat from Iran due 
to their involvement in the strike on Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in January 
2020.

   Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., criticized Trump for pardoning Jan. 6 rioters 
who had been convicted of attacking police, and he said Trump's proposal for a 
U.S. takeover of Gaza was "problematic."

   "The idea of Americans going in on the ground in Gaza is a nonstarter for 
every senator," Graham told reporters Wednesday.

   On the tariffs, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, pleaded with Trump for an 
exemption for potash used in fertilizers to spare Iowa family farmers.

   And Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has been especially outspoken.

   Otherwise, Republican senators this week have played down the potential 
negative impact of Trump's actions and stressed the importance of uniting 
behind him.

   "I hope my colleagues will be supportive of him when it comes to his 
tariffs," said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., warning of potential "danger" if 
foreign countries see Trump facing political backlash from members of Congress 
or state lawmakers.

   Tough sell for Democrats as they make their case for GOP help

   Democrats are scrambling to curtail Trump's power grabs and are appealing to 
Republicans to join their cause.

   Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said Democrats are mounting an "all hands on 
deck approach" to fighting Trump's executive orders and they are contesting 
Musk's access to sensitive payment systems at the Treasury Department. She 
wants GOP colleagues to help push back.

   "In the Congress we have to stand up and speak out," she said. "And if it's 
only the Democrats doing that, we have a problem because the Republicans have 
the majority in both the House and the Senate. Some of them have got to stand 
with us and call this out."

   But Republicans deny that Trump is overstepping and say his team is within 
its authority to "pause" programs. The Constitution, in Article 1, gives 
Congress the power to collect taxes, pay debts and provide for the defense and 
general welfare of the country.

   "We don't see this as a threat to Article 1 at all," House Speaker Mike 
Johnson, R-La., said. "We see this as an active, engaged, committed executive 
branch authority doing what the executive branch should do."

 
 
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