Joseph Zambon
In January, Republicans will control the Presidency, the Senate, the House, and the Supreme Court. You’d think that would make any autocrat happy! But, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Republicans are starting to turn against one another.
President-elect Trump recently posted messages on his social media platform, Truth Social, that should make Republican legislators very anxious.
The Continuing Resolution needed to keep the federal government open past Friday (December 20, 2024) is the source of much of this anxiety. Still, it won’t be the last issue on which Republicans could find themselves at odds with Trump.
Having been burned during his previous term as president, Trump is looking to avoid what he calls “a nasty TRAP set in place by the Radical Left Democrats. They are looking to embarrass us in June when it [the debt Ceiling Guillotine] comes to a vote.”
I can understand that. Even Sen. Elizabeth Warren stated she would be OK with eliminating the debt ceiling.
“Political Malpractice”
However, Trump also pointed fingers at House Republicans. “The people that extended it, from September 28th to June 1st, should be ashamed of themselves. It was political malpractice!”
Who are these House Republicans who lacked the foresight to foresee changing political tides?
Who thought they were doing the right thing by voting to postpone the debt ceiling fight until after the election when shutting down the government could have cost Republicans the November election?
Many Republicans, including almost all local members of Congress, voted in favor of the Continuing Resolution to extend the government from September 28th to June 1st. The House vote was 341 to 82, with 132 Republicans and 209 Democrats in favor and 82 Republicans voting against.
Speaker Johnson Torpedoes Brandon Williams
In the NY22 Congressional District around Syracuse, Republican Brandon Williams voted to extend the budget past the election. He lost his re-election bid. He was torpedoed (Williams is a former Navy submariner) by his own Republican House Speaker. Speaker Johnson was campaigning for Williams in Syracuse when he stated that Republicans would eliminate the Chips Act in the next Congress. The Chips Act is bringing thousands of new jobs and millions in investments to Syracuse. Publicly announcing in Syracuse the planned demise of the Chips Act was “political malpractice” on Johnson’s part.
At least as a former member of Congress, Brandon Williams will be out of the line of fire for what’s to come.
Nicholas Langworthy Votes the Wrong Way
In the NY23 Congressional District in the Southern Tier and Western New York, Nicholas Langworthy voted “YES!” in favor of the Continuing Resolution.
Uh-oh! According to Trump, Langworthy is guilty of “political malpractice.”
That sounds very bad, but it’s probably not fatal to Langworthy’s political career. Langworthy has been on Trump’s good side for a long time. In 2016, Trump appointed him to his first-term Presidential Transition Committee. Langworthy also had Trump’s support in deposing Ed Cox—Richard Nixon’s son-in-law—as chairman of the New York Republican State Committee.
One might wonder why Langworthy would vote in favor of the Continuing Resolution. He represents a very secure Republican district. So safe that a previous Republican congressman, Chris Collins, representing that same district, was re-elected even after he was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and charged with insider trading and making false statements. He was narrowly re-elected, receiving only 49% of the votes, compared to 67% in the previous election. After his re-election, Collins resigned, pleaded guilty, was sentenced, got out of prison during the pandemic, and was pardoned by Trump.
Langworthy could have voted against the Continuing Resolution without fear of jeopardizing his re-election. Maybe he was following the instructions of the Republican House leadership rather than the President-elect.
Claudia Tenney Votes the Right Way
In the NY24 Congressional District around Lake Ontario, Claudia Tenney voted “NO” against the Continuing Resolution. She was the only member of the 26-member (25 at the time) New York delegation and the only one of 10 New York Republican congressmen to vote against the Continuing Resolution.
Tenney plays golf at Mar-a-Lago. Maybe she was tipped off about the risks of voting “YES.” Her “NO” vote certainly didn’t cost her politically; she easily won re-election, although she did have a Republican primary challenger.
She’s now in charge of voter suppression for the House Republicans as co-chair of the Election Integrity Caucus.
Elise Stefanik Votes the Wrong Way But Still Comes Out a Winner
Elise Stefanik (R-NY21) received a pass from Trump. She voted “YES” to extend the Continuing Resolution, which, according to Trump, makes her guilty of “political malpractice.”
But Trump likes her. She was supposedly being considered for his Vice President, but I don’t think she ever really was. However, Trump did nominate her to be ambassador to the United Nations. Don’t be surprised if Stefanik and the other Trump nominees are recess appointments. That’s what Trump hinted at.
I guess “political malpractice” is not a hard and fast rule.