Republicans handed President Biden two political gifts this week.
The first was Donald Trump’s announcement of a third presidential run. Whatever they might say publicly, Democrats are confident that they could beat Trump again.
Just look at their actions. On Thursday, Senator Raphael Warnock’s campaign put out a 30-second ad promoting Trump’s endorsement of Warnock’s opponent, Herschel Walker, in the runoff election for Senate in Georgia. During the midterms, Trump imposed a drag of five percentage points on Republican candidates, my colleague Nate Cohn found.
Even if Trump doesn’t win the Republican primary, there is a good chance he will damage whoever becomes the G.O.P. nominee in his stead. Many Republicans evidently agree, and are distancing themselves from Trump’s bid.
That might not seem obvious at first; Democrats would have loved to keep it, and I’m not suggesting otherwise. For those focused on progressive policy goals, it’s a disaster. But given how the midterm picture appeared entering this year, keeping the Senate and narrowly losing the House are both huge accomplishments and an extraordinary stroke of political luck for Democrats.
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Now Biden, should he run again, will have a daily foil on Capitol Hill. As my colleague Carl Hulse reported, the big question facing House Republicans for the next two years will be whether they can govern. The early signals suggest they are much more eager to investigate the Biden administration than they are in, say, taming inflation.
Already, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and other right-wing Republicans have secured a promise from party leaders to “investigate Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Justice Department for their treatment of defendants jailed in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol,” Hulse reported. After a midterm election in which voters repudiated many high-profile election deniers, that could easily backfire against Republicans.
Incoming committee leaders are also gearing up to investigate Hunter Biden, the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the administration’s handling of the border, China and supply-chain issues, and on and on.
On Thursday morning, Representative James Comer of Kentucky, the likely next chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, who is expected to be the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, held a news conference on Capitol Hill in which they leveled a blizzard of unsubstantiated accusations about the business dealings of Biden family members.
The thrust of the Republican lawmakers’ remarks: We’re coming after the president. “Our focus is Joe Biden,” Comer said.
“We’re committed to doing it in an aggressive fashion, but in a way that’s consistent with the Constitution,” Jordan said. Given Attorney General Merrick Garland’s reputation as a straight shooter, that might be a difficult case to make stick.
Democrats have long seen this coming. The administration is hunkering down in expectation of a G.O.P. onslaught, and several outside organizations have also popped up to begin what my colleague Kenneth Vogel calls a “counteroffensive” against Republican attacks. One of the groups, the revamped Congressional Integrity Project, previewed its plans to Politico — including warnings that it will investigate the Republican investigators.
Jordan referred to those efforts several times, complaining at one point, “They set up a committee to attack us.”
Republicans seem aware that many reporters, having looked at similar accusations for years without finding any wrongdoing by the president, are skeptical of G.O.P. findings.
“I realize that congressional oversight doesn’t have a lot of credibility in Washington,” Comer lamented, blaming the way congressional Democrats went after Trump while he was president.
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There are new Republican moderates like Mike Lawler, who defeated Representative Sean Patrick Maloney in a swing district in New York’s Hudson Valley, and Juan Ciscomani in Arizona. Both are vulnerable to losing their seats two years from now, and have incentives to break with McCarthy to his left.
The first was Donald Trump’s announcement of a third presidential run. Whatever they might say publicly, Democrats are confident that they could beat Trump again.
Just look at their actions. On Thursday, Senator Raphael Warnock’s campaign put out a 30-second ad promoting Trump’s endorsement of Warnock’s opponent, Herschel Walker, in the runoff election for Senate in Georgia. During the midterms, Trump imposed a drag of five percentage points on Republican candidates, my colleague Nate Cohn found.
Even if Trump doesn’t win the Republican primary, there is a good chance he will damage whoever becomes the G.O.P. nominee in his stead. Many Republicans evidently agree, and are distancing themselves from Trump’s bid.
A Republican House divided
The second gift, perhaps a counterintuitive one, is Republicans taking control of the House.That might not seem obvious at first; Democrats would have loved to keep it, and I’m not suggesting otherwise. For those focused on progressive policy goals, it’s a disaster. But given how the midterm picture appeared entering this year, keeping the Senate and narrowly losing the House are both huge accomplishments and an extraordinary stroke of political luck for Democrats.
Advertisement
Continue reading the main story
Now Biden, should he run again, will have a daily foil on Capitol Hill. As my colleague Carl Hulse reported, the big question facing House Republicans for the next two years will be whether they can govern. The early signals suggest they are much more eager to investigate the Biden administration than they are in, say, taming inflation.
Already, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and other right-wing Republicans have secured a promise from party leaders to “investigate Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Justice Department for their treatment of defendants jailed in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol,” Hulse reported. After a midterm election in which voters repudiated many high-profile election deniers, that could easily backfire against Republicans.
Incoming committee leaders are also gearing up to investigate Hunter Biden, the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the administration’s handling of the border, China and supply-chain issues, and on and on.
Hunting Hunter
Hunter, the president’s son, is first up on the menu. He is under federal investigation, but has not been charged with any crimes.On Thursday morning, Representative James Comer of Kentucky, the likely next chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, who is expected to be the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, held a news conference on Capitol Hill in which they leveled a blizzard of unsubstantiated accusations about the business dealings of Biden family members.
The thrust of the Republican lawmakers’ remarks: We’re coming after the president. “Our focus is Joe Biden,” Comer said.
“We’re committed to doing it in an aggressive fashion, but in a way that’s consistent with the Constitution,” Jordan said. Given Attorney General Merrick Garland’s reputation as a straight shooter, that might be a difficult case to make stick.
Democrats have long seen this coming. The administration is hunkering down in expectation of a G.O.P. onslaught, and several outside organizations have also popped up to begin what my colleague Kenneth Vogel calls a “counteroffensive” against Republican attacks. One of the groups, the revamped Congressional Integrity Project, previewed its plans to Politico — including warnings that it will investigate the Republican investigators.
Jordan referred to those efforts several times, complaining at one point, “They set up a committee to attack us.”
Republicans seem aware that many reporters, having looked at similar accusations for years without finding any wrongdoing by the president, are skeptical of G.O.P. findings.
“I realize that congressional oversight doesn’t have a lot of credibility in Washington,” Comer lamented, blaming the way congressional Democrats went after Trump while he was president.
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Continue reading the main story
McCarthy’s political vise
Representative Kevin McCarthy of California — assuming he ends up cutting enough deals to become speaker — will be tugged in two different directions, but the tug from his right is likely to be far stronger.There are new Republican moderates like Mike Lawler, who defeated Representative Sean Patrick Maloney in a swing district in New York’s Hudson Valley, and Juan Ciscomani in Arizona. Both are vulnerable to losing their seats two years from now, and have incentives to break with McCarthy to his left.
Why Republicans’ Wafer-Thin House Majority Is a Gift for Democrats
Democrats would have loved to keep the chamber. But politically, being in the minority will have its benefits.
www.nytimes.com