I noted below that we might know tonight where the Senate GOP is going on the compromise legislation they said they wanted. Well, it’s not even 8 p.m. And we know. They’re going to filibuster it. The explanation of the evening is that voting this week is too soon. They need more time. But of course more time is just to build opposition to it. Trump was able to shut this down pretty quickly. If anything it’s now turning into a secondary effort to show Trump’s dominance over McConnell in the Senate. But that’s a topic for another post. The White House now needs to shift gears and make this a central element of its campaign. There was a bipartisan compromise to crackdown on border crossings. It included lots of what Republicans have demanded for years. But Republicans killed it because Donald Trump told them to.
Democrats down the road may have a decision to make about whether to agree to a more draconian bill. That’s clearly the direction this is going. Senate Republicans are saying it has to be toughened up. But for most of them that will simply be a way to find a new dividing line that gives them their own position for the campaign. The logical position for Democrats is to hold on to this compromise as the only “bipartisan” agreement. Whatever Republicans now come forward with is a partisan bill.
I’m really curious to see how the White House and congressional Democrats react. A lot is on the line.
