In a very unusual move, Senator Flake announces his retirement from the Senate and tells the GOP bluntly that it's on the wrong course with Trump:
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/35 ... fiery-exit
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) shocked his colleagues on Tuesday by announcing that he will not run for reelection, saying he can no longer be “complicit” in President Trump’s transformation of the Republican Party.
...“Here’s the bottom line: The path that I would have to travel to get the Republican nomination is a path I’m not willing to take, and that I can’t in good conscience take,” Flake told The Arizona Republic.
“It would require me to believe in positions I don’t hold on such issues as trade and immigration, and it would require me to condone behavior that I cannot condone.”
Full text of Senator Flake's speech:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/ar ... on/543846/
A couple of very pointed comments:
We must never regard as “normal” the regular and casual undermining of our democratic norms and ideals. We must never meekly accept the daily sundering of our country—the personal attacks, the threats against principles, freedoms, and institution, the flagrant disregard for truth and decency, the reckless provocations, most often for the pettiest and most personal reasons, reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with the fortunes of the people that we have been elected to serve.
When we remain silent and fail to act when we know that that silence and inaction is the wrong thing to do—because of political considerations, because we might make enemies, because we might alienate the base, because we might provoke a primary challenge, because ad infinitum, ad nauseum—when we succumb to those considerations in spite of what should be greater considerations and imperatives in defense of the institutions and our liberty, we dishonor our principles and forsake our obligations.
But it won't matter - basically, most of the GOP is pandering to Trump. Inside Trump's meeting Tuesday with Republican Senators:
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3570 ... senate-gop
Trump largely appeared interested in touting his accomplishments at the meeting, senators told The Hill..... Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) later described the tone of the room as “lighthearted” and “cordial.”
Some aren't pleased, but don't have the guts to speak on the record:
... other senators were less amused by the meeting, which they complained lacked substance and focus. “He said the tax cuts are ‘going to be great,’ ” without going into any detail, said one GOP senator who requested anonymity to assess the meeting candidly. He just went on and on, talking about his accomplishments and going off on tangents. It was inane,” the lawmaker added.
...The GOP lawmaker said some of the questions to Trump were so effusive that it sparked the thought, “You’re not in his Cabinet, you don’t need to kiss up to him.”
btw, Trump isn't even cooperating with his own party on a strategy for NAFTA or giving them any information about what he's doing:
“He basically asked us to give him room for negotiations,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who added that Trump assured lawmakers, “I can negotiate a good deal.” “He did say something about, ‘I might have to nullify to re-up,’ but I didn’t get specifically, exactly what he meant by that,” she added. “It was vague.”
And Trump gloats and feels vindicated:
http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... gainst-him
President Trump mocked Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) for criticizing him, writing in a tweet that the retiring senator has just an 18 percent approval rating and that his other GOP colleagues offered Trump a standing ovation on Tuesday.
And in case anyone cares, most Republicans have voted to allow forced arbitration clauses for consumers:
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/s ... ation-rule
Vice President Pence joined with Senate Republicans to nix a controversial consumer bureau rule banning companies from using forced settlements to resolve disputes with customers.
A contrary view:
"Our job is to look out for the people whom we serve, not to look out for Wells Fargo, not to look out for Equinox, not to look out for Wall Street banks, not to look out for corporations who scam consumers," Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said ahead of the vote.
btw, this was done with the Congressional Review Act, not the normal legislative process - so that means we can forget about any future rules that are substantially similar and would restrain banks, etc. - from any future U.S. administration. I'll bet Equifax is celebrating.