Welcome Back to the Chaos of the Trump Era
Mardi Gras comes next Tuesday, but Republicans decided to throw a wild carnival a week early. With disarray on Capitol Hill, in the courts, and at the Republican National Committee, yesterday was a throwback to the vertiginous days of the Trump administration. Lots of data show that Americans aren’t paying close attention to politics or don’t believe Donald Trump will really be the Republican nominee, but each bit of Tuesday’s chaos had Trump’s fingerprints all over it—offering a partial preview of what life will be like if Trump is reelected in November.
The most surprising fiasco was in the House, where a vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas unexpectedly failed. As I wrote: Republicans were mostly angry at Mayorkas for policy choices, and the Senate was sure not to convict him. But the House plunged ahead anyway, until suddenly it screeched to a halt. Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican and no one’s idea of a squish or a renegade, announced that he would oppose the vote and withstood pressure to flip, joining two other Republicans—Ken Buck and Tom McClintock—in opposition. Meanwhile, Democrats wheeled Al Green of Texas onto the floor following a surgical procedure, , to guarantee that the measure wouldn’t succeed.
