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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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