Ahead of his first federal criminal indictment Donald Trump made no secret of the fact that the he was looking to Capitol Hill for some kind of rescue. “REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS MUST MAKE THIS THEIR # 1 ISSUE!!!” the former president wrote on his social media platform.
It’s never been altogether clear what, exactly, he expected congressional Republicans to do. As we’ve discussed, Congress has no control over who is or isn’t indicted, and lawmakers can’t simply choose to insert themselves in active criminal investigations. Short of defunding prosecutors — a step Trump apparently supports — it wouldn’t make much of a practical difference whether GOP lawmakers made the former president’s legal troubles “their #1 issue” or not.
But as it turns out, Trump’s expectations are coming into sharper focus. NBC News reported on what transpired after the former president disclosed the target letter he received from special counsel Jack Smith’s office.
Trump called House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and urged them to rally support for him from their rank-and-file members, two people familiar with the calls said. Stefanik, who has publicly endorsed Trump in his re-election campaign, and McCarthy, who has not, both defended the former president Tuesday in on-camera remarks to reporters, claiming the investigation against him was politically motivated.
A related New York Times report added that, as part of his conversation with Stefanik, “the former president lingered on the line as they discussed ways to use the Republican-led House committees to try to attack the investigations.” A CNN report also noted that Trump and Stefanik went over how she could “use her role” on the conspiratorial “weaponization” committee to advance the former president’s interests.
Predictably, as the day progressed, McCarthy and Stefanik scrambled to push tiresome and misguided rhetoric about the justice system, prosecutors, and conspiracy theories that only far-right partisans can see. The GOP duo also criticized the former president’s likely indictment that they have not read, making it impossible for them to know whether it has merit or not.
None of this was especially surprising, of course, but what stood out for me was the congressional leaders’ willingness to position themselves as followers. In effect, Trump, who has long perceived his partisan allies on Capitol Hill as employees, is the shadow speaker of the House, while the actual speaker and GOP conference chair are obedient members of Trump’s whip team. Trump wanted McCarthy and Stefanik to take his side over law enforcement, and his apparent subordinates complied. Trump wanted McCarthy and Stefanik to help rally support among their colleagues, so they said they would. Trump wanted McCarthy and Stefanik to commit to using congressional committees as vehicles for his grievances, and they’re now prepared to do exactly that. It’s one thing for House Republicans to support the former president’s comeback bid, but it’s pitiful to see ostensibly powerful congressional leaders play such subservient roles.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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