Trump has destroyed all chances of the GOP having a complete majority...and to think 6 months ago our future looked so bright.
Trump's presumptive GOP nominee status threatens to put Congress in even deeper freezeCongress wasn’t doing a lot before Donald Trump all but secured the Republican presidential nomination. And it’s likely that Trump’s fait accompli Tuesday could diminish congressional productivity even further.
As lawmakers return to Washington after a week-long respite, Trump is already in a churning battle with House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and rank-and-file Republicans are divided over what to do about the top of the ticket.
Moreover, lawmakers will convene in Washington for the first time with Trump as the presumptive Republican nominee. This is likely to spark four phenomena:
Some Republican lawmakers who were reluctant to embrace Trump will rush to join the bandwagon.
Secondly, some will dash the other direction to dodge Trump and build distance between their campaign and the New York businessman.
Third, Democrats will stoke the political embers, painting Trump and Republicans together in the same camp.
Fourth, political talk will dominate the Capitol. Reporters will pepper congressional GOPers about why they are or aren’t backing Trump. Will there be a third party candidate? A savior emerging on a white horse?
And you can bet someone will at least sprint to the post in some effort to court Ryan again despite his Sherman-esque statement a few weeks ago about not running for president. This is to say nothing of some Republicans who will blast Ryan for not publicly supporting Trump.
Trump creates headaches for Ryan and other congressional leaders.
The speaker always says he wants a competition of ideas. Well, how about the idea of building a wall along the Mexican border and forcing Mexico to pay for it? How about the idea that Trump wants to kick Muslims out of the country? How about Trump’s position to cut off foreign workers? What about the idea Trump has to strip some native-born Americans of their citizenship?
What about Trump’s idea to deploy the military as a kind of domestic police force and come for families of those associated with terrorists? And what about Trump’s idea to not touch Social Security (one of the key drivers of the national debt) yet hack all federal outlays in half in order to balance the budget in less than a decade?
These are the reasons why Ryan can’t get behind Trump just yet.
On several occasions, Ryan has taken special care to disavow Trump’s remarks related to everything from Muslims to white supremacy.
But if Ryan wants the debate to be about ideas and Trump secured the nomination, well, it’s pretty clear which ideas won out. Which idea is easier for the average voter to understand? Trump talking about rounding up Muslims or building walls … , or Ryan’s preference of wonky, Oxford-style debate on tax inversions?
For Republicans, that ship has sailed and perhaps already sinking, some suggest....
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/05/07/trumps-presumptive-gop-nominee-status-threatens-to-put-congress-in-even-deeper-freeze.html?intcmp=hpbt1
