Eugene Robinson: ‘Congress Is Not Saving Us from What’s Going On’

LEMIRE: “Let’s turn to your news story now. Your new piece in The Washington Post has this headline: ‘These Republicans should be ashamed of themselves.’ You write in part this: ‘As President Donald Trump tramples the Constitution, vandalizes the federal government, and trashes our vital international alliances, the reaction from leading Republicans is: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. They should be ashamed of themselves because they know better. Ultimately, we will all pay the price for their cowardice. With Trump’s blessing, the unelected and unaccountable Elon Musk is trying to decimate and ultimately destroy the nonpartisan civil service, without a peep of protest from Republicans. I’m confident that if the top Republicans in Congress were meeting with Trump and the president accidentally spilled Diet Coke on his red necktie, they would all promptly spill Diet Coke on their red neckties, too.’ We remember the moment of Mike Pence, when he was vice president, putting his water bottle exactly on the table, just like Donald Trump did, mimic his movements every so often, but that elicited a smile. This right here, though, Eugene, to your point, is potentially devastating consequences.”
Robinson: “Yeah, absolutely. So much I’s happening that things just whizz past. Right? So, I went like all the way back to, oh, a few days ago, a week or so ago. And look at the — look at the confirmations in the Senate. So, the Senate has confirmed Pete Hegseth. It’s about to confirm RFK Jr.. And Tulsi Gabbard. And the senators, the Republicans who are who are voting for these people know, they know absolutely, without a doubt, that these people are unqualified and unfit, unsuited to have these jobs. They just are wrong and should never be confirmed in these jobs. These are important roles to play in the country and ultimately in the world, and these are the wrong people. And yet it’s going through because that’s what Donald Trump demands if you’re a Republican senator, especially if you’re up for reelection in ‘26. You know that if you’re the vote that sends one of Trump’s nominees south, then you are going to get a primary challenge and it’s going to be really well-funded because Elon Musk is there to write as big a check as anybody needs, and your political career is likely over. And it’s that sort of heavy-handed but effective power that’s being exercised over the U.S. Senate, say nothing of the House, which is dysfunctional, as well as toady-ish, and there you have it. So, Congress is not saving us from from what’s going on.”