Profiles in Cowardice: Republican Lawmakers Cowed by an Imperial President
Prologue: During President Trump’s first term in office, I kicked off a blog series that I called Profiles in Cowardice. I did this because I had just re-read Profiles in Courage by John Fitzgerald Kennedy, a book written in 1956 when JFK was a junior senator from Massachusetts. A book that garnered the Pulitzer Prize for biography the following year. A book that chronicles the courage of eight senators who put national interests over party, geography, and at times even their own constituents to do what they believed was right and required for the good of the nation.
And now, once again, I find myself ruminating on the astounding lack of courage demonstrated by some of our elected leaders, their appointees, and other important stakeholders. If you have some historical interest, you can read these earlier blogs here, here, here, here.
Cowardice: According to Merriam-Webster, cowardice is a lack of courage or firmness of purpose. The firmness of purpose I believe we expect from our elected leaders and their appointees is putting the interest of the public first and foremost. Thus, it is cowardly to toss public interest aside in favor or at the behest of special, monied, and private interest – or simply to stay in the good graces of Mr. Trump, an imperial president if ever there was one.
Today’s Cowardice Profile:
If I were writing a series call Profiles in Arrogance, President Trump himself would be subject #1. Instead, this first profile features Republican members of Congress who don’t have the courage to stand up to Trump’s assault on democracy, the Constitution, separation of powers, the public good, common sense, and our nation’s standing in the world.
With very few exceptions, the Republicans in Congress have voiced no dissent or even concern about Trump’s orders and actions. One of his very first actions upon assuming the office was to issue sweeping pardons and commutations for the approximately 1,500 people prosecuted for participating in the January 6 attacks on the Capitol, including convicted violent offenders. And in just the past two weeks, he has:
Blocked funds appropriated by Congress, ignoring the Constitution, the will of Congress, and well-established impoundment law. Read more here, here
Fired 17 attorneys general, defying a law requiring that Congress get 30 days’ notice, along with the detailed reasons for the termination;
Declared an end to birthright citizenship (an order blocked by a federal judge who called it “blatantly unconstitutional” ;
Fired senior foreign service leaders at the State Department and senior attorneys in the Justice Department, ignoring foreign service, civil service and labor laws.
Terminated remote work arrangements for civil service employees, despite civil service protections;
Fired science advisors at the EPA;
Withdrew our nation from the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accord;
Expunged diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in our government agencies and institutions with government grants and contracts (see here, here)
Blamed the recent and deadly midair collision over the Potomac on DEI programs (here, here).
Halted most outgoing communications, travel, and grant reviews among agencies (see what the communication freeze meant for the CDC and our nation’s public health here) and read more about the thousands of webpages taken down here;
Threatened to end the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
I’m sure this is not an exhaustive list of Trump’s illegal and non-sensical actions, but you get the picture – and you can add what I’ve missed and what’s top of mind for you in the comments.
Republicans Lack Courage in Calling Out the Trump Administration
To date, and I acknowledge that it’s early in the Trump 2 administration, not one Republican member of Congress would merit even a mention let alone a full chapter in any updated version of Profiles in Courage. They have not publicly spoken out, criticized, or expressed concern with President Trump’s comments, orders, decisions, and demeanor. Their silence in the face of Trump’s egregious and at times illegal action is sheer cowardice. On top of that, they have approved Trump’s roster of unqualified Cabinet nominees, a clear abdication of their duty to act in the public interest. Only three Rs (Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell) voted against Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense. And only one Republican (Senator Charles Grassley) asked the President for a detailed and case-specific explanation for the firing of each inspector general.
Epilogue
A paragraph from Chapter 1 in the original Profiles in Courage, seem particularly apt in this moment:
“Today the challenge of political courage looms larger than ever before. For our everyday life is becoming so saturated with the tremendous power of mass communication that any unpopular or unorthodox course arouses a storm of protests…. Our political life is becoming so expensive, so mechanized and so dominated by professional politicians and public relations men that the idealist who dreams of independent statesmanship is rudely awakened by the necessities of election and accomplishment.”
And my take? Democrats, you need to get up off the mat and continually find the courage to stand up, say no, and do everything in your power to push back and stop the destruction of our Constitutional democracy. Republicans, yes, you have the majority in both houses of Congress and the White House. But please remember that Congress is a CO-EQUAL branch of government. It is the height of cowardice to just go along with illegal and immoral actions just because they may impact your re-election prospects or because you want to avoid the glare and ire of a President hell bent on retribution. Show us that you are better than that. Show us that you have courage.
So, dear readers, let’s push every one of our elected members of Congress (Ds and Rs alike) to do their jobs and put the interests of the country and their constituents before the whims of a President who has assumed imperial power and takes counsel from billionaires and corporate leaders whose interests are more their own than those of the public.
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