After the 2022 midterm elections, political observers believed many congressional Republicans would finally abandon former President Trump.
If anything, a pending indictment against the former president only seemed to strengthen many Republicans’ resolve to align themselves with Mr. Trump.
After finally capturing the gavel on the 15th ballot in a post-Witch Hour ballot, the former president was one of the first people to thank House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
A group of House Republicans now support the investigation into the 2020 election. Others want an investigation into the January 6 riot and the treatment of 1/6 of the defendants. The release of additional video footage from Capitol security cameras sparked another debate about what happened on January 6.
But word that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg could indict the former president has really pushed House Republicans to close ranks around Mr. Trump.
“It’s very concerning,” says Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Tex. “I think Kevin McCarthy will have an investigation into this.”
Former President Donald Trump (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
McCarthy brought the House into future indictment of the former president shortly after Mr Trump suggested authorities “arrest” him last Tuesday. McCarthy quickly sent out a tweet asking the House to investigate Bragg’s motivations and possible communications.
WITH A LITTLE OF LUCK, BIDDING AND MCCARTHY’S ST PATRICK’S DAY LUNCH CAN HELP BUILD A BRIDGE ACROSS THE DEBT CEILING
On Monday, R-Ohio House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan demanded answers from Bragg about the money being spent on a possible prosecution.
“The Federal District of New York (said) this was not something they would pursue. The previous district attorney (said) this was something they would not pursue. And even this district attorney said (he) was ‘I don’t pursue it. And then what happened? President Trump announces he’s running for re-election and, ‘Shazam!’, now we’re going to chase it,” Jordan thundered.
Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., sought two audiences with former President Trump in recent days — including a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago. Alford’s view of Mr. Trump is typical of Republicans who squarely support the former president.
“We need the president behind that Resolute Desk. Who’s going to take the lead? Who’s going to lead us to greatness?” Alford asked. “I think President Trump is going to do that. I think (the possible indictment) will be a little distraction.”
This is the challenge faced by Republicans in Congress. To what extent are they aligning themselves with former President Trump for their own political gain — or even to boost Trump’s grassroots and loyalists? And how much do they try to put distance between themselves and the former president?
Some Republicans privately admit that Mr. Trump’s potential legal troubles are bad for the GOP. But few will say much about it in public. Silence is apparently golden. A prosecution by Trump puts the former president back in the spotlight. Its political appeal remains unparalleled, drawing other political galaxies to it, even if they think it’s better to go the other way.
And so, what is the political universe talking about? Former President Trump and how Bragg can wrong him — even if some Republicans think it’s best to move on.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a press conference after Steve Bannon, former adviser to former President Donald Trump, surrendered to the New York District Attorney’s Office on September 8, 2022, in New York City. Bannon faces a new criminal charge that will mirror the federal case in which he was pardoned by former President Donald Trump. He and others allegedly defrauded donors in a $25 million private fundraiser to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
House Republicans privately buzzed behind closed doors about a potential indictment at their annual policy retreat this week in Orlando, Fla. However, McCarthy tried to downplay the rhubarb about a possible indictment, trying to steer the conversation towards energy production and how he could reform the House. The Speaker preached to reporters when they asked about Mr. Trump’s shadow looming over the conference.
“I know you’ve asked me this question several times during this conference. And then you come back (with) ‘It’s dominating the conference.’ No. We don’t talk about this at our conference. You just ask about it. So it just dominates your question.”
Other Republicans tried to focus on policy, assuming that the Trump saga will blow over — even though most Trump sagas never really blow over.
This will be the kind of thing that will gobble up the political headlines for a week. Maybe a month. Or maybe longer,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson, RS.D. “We can focus more on securing the border. Balancing the budget and preparing for our strategic competition with China.”
A week? One month?
While the former president’s latest legal issue may pose an internal conundrum to Republicans, the GOP knows that a potential indictment incites Trump loyalists and inflames the GOP base. Most Republicans continue to follow the “12th commandment” of Republican politics. The late President Ronald Reagan created what GOPers called the “11th Commandment” during his 1966 campaign for governor of California: “Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican.” The “12th Commandment” for Republicans may not conflict with former President Trump, lest he expel you at a rally or call you “Ron DeSanctimious.”
Given the current political climate, most Republicans are willing to support the former president.
“If the defendant wasn’t Donald Trump, this wouldn’t have been brought by a prosecutor,” said Rep. Kelly Armstrong, RN.D. “I think we understand dishonesty. We understand politicization.”
Republicans have also turned the latest legal battle the former president faced into a matter of political wedges. GOPers often harp on crime problems in big cities run by Democrats. The party is targeting what it says are indulgent prosecutors who are “soft on the crime.”
Former President Donald Trump speaks at the 2023 New Hampshire Republican State Committee annual meeting, Saturday, January 28, 2023, in Salem, NH (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha) (AP)
The fact that New York is the nation’s largest city, run by Democrats, and has a rising crime rate is a political trifecta for Republicans — not to mention their chance to target Bragg.
“We see crimes being prosecuted not just in New York City, but across the country by progressive prosecutors,” House Administration Committee chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wisc., said on Fox.
“You have a very partisan prosecutor in New York refusing to prosecute crimes in his own areas, but going after a former president five years into the statute of limitations,” De La Cruz said.
“This is just the district attorney in the Manhattan borough,” McCarthy said, suggesting that Bragg should turn his attention to local issues rather than former President Trump seeking the office again.
WHAT TO DO AT SVB?
“It’s political persecution. It’s pretty simple that this prosecutor doesn’t want President Trump to be president again,” Alford said. “They’ll even go after his parking tickets if they can try and disqualify him from running for president again.”
Republicans are also using the potential prosecution to artfully express their concerns not about the former president.
“We don’t come to defend President Trump. What we come to defend is equal justice in America,” McCarthy argued.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks about House Republicans and the election, during a news conference on Washington’s Capitol Hill, Thursday, November 12, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Republicans therefore do not want to talk about the possible charges against former President Trump. But circumstances forced them to talk about former President Trump. This is exactly what the Democrats want — and why many political analysts and some Republicans thought the GOP would finally fire the former president after the midterms. Democrats and many middle-class voters see Mr. Trump as toxic. But the more the GOP discusses the former president, that means the less they talk about President Biden, the economy, or any other issues Democrats are having.
That is why Democrats generally go into this issue.
Reporters asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., if he had confidence in Bragg.
“I think it’s premature to comment on what’s happening and we’ll have to wait and see what he does,” Schumer said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
So for now, Republicans are rallying around former President Trump. It is unclear whether that is good policy in the long run. But there’s the party.
Democrats also hope that Republicans will continue to support the former president. They watched Mr. Trump cripple the Republicans in the meantime.
You need a foil in politics and the Democrats certainly believe they have one in former President Trump.
Chad Pergram is currently senior congressional correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based in Washington, DC
