Ousted White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said in an interview that aired Sunday that President Donald Trump’s decision to punt to Congress on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program could risk the Republican majority in the House.
“I’m worried about losing the House now because of this — of — because of DACA. And my fear is that with this six months down range, if we have another huge — if this goes all the way down to its logical conclusion, in February and March it will be a civil war inside the Republican Party that will be every bit as vitriolic as 2013. And to me, doing that in the springboard of primary season for 2018 is extremely unwise,” Bannon said on CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
The Trump administration announced that it would rescind DACA, which protects undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as minors from deportation, in six months. The President called on Congress to reinstate the policy through legislation, and the disagreements within the Republican party on how to address DACA are already apparent.
Bannon said that DACA recipients should “self-deport” when their work permits run out.
“There’s no path to citizenship, no path to a green card, and no amnesty. Amnesty is non-negotiable,” he said on CBS.
There should be no amnesty for those guilty of treason with Trump’s pardon pending.
On the other hand, it was a chance for a trifecta of Trumpism: sticking it to Congress, being cruel to the powerless, and creating a headline that had nothing to do with Russia.
It’s very, very hard for me to hope that Steve Brownshirt is right, but this time I must.
My exact thought too.
For the only time since this vile excuse of a person wafted into my consciousness, I sure as hell hope he’s right.
ETA: Kevin Drum over at MoJo put up his favorite clip from the 60-Min interview.
It’s an easy call to say the big grabber makes bad decisions, so no points there Herr Bannon. Bannon no doubt longs for the good old days when the whole R congress was efficiently controlled by primary election threats. If GOP members start voting in the interests of their constituents, the power of the Party to serve corporate masters diminishes. The bad news is the zombie Republican Party climbs out of its grave again.