With Friends Like These, Nobody is Safe from Trump's Threats
If Trump Sycophants like Andy Harris aren't safe from retribution, why keep carrying water for Trump at all?
Lost in the bustle of Christmas Eve, it turns out that President Donald Trump and his political team are threatening even the most loyal of Trump watercarriers.
President Trump was fed up.
During a meeting with GOP lawmakers at the White House over the summer, Trump berated House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris for raising concerns about the president’s signature tax-and-spending legislation. Trump demanded that Harris fall in line—then the president abruptly left the room, according to people who attended the meeting.
With Trump gone, Harris turned his ire to James Blair, one of the president’s top advisers. Harris accused Blair of wanting to find a Republican primary challenger to unseat him.
“I just work for the president, sir,” Blair responded, according to the people in the room. It wasn’t a denial.
What was shocking about that was that Harris, raising concerns with spending consistent with the views Harris used to believe before Trump’s political career, was being threatened with a primary opponent even though Harris had long been one of Trump’s loudest cheerleaders in the House.
The wild thing? Harris couldn’t even bring himself to vote against the Big Beautiful Bill in question, deciding to take the coward’s way out instead.
But the entire episode highlights something that many people on both sides of the aisle have raised concerns about: how the Trump Administration does not respect the Constitutional role of the Legislative Branch.
Blair’s tactics have rankled some on Capitol Hill. Members have privately complained about how the White House doesn’t seem to understand Congress is a coequal branch of government. Some Republicans have announced retirements rather than face re-election, and others are considering retirement, senior Hill Republicans said.
Retiring Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene expressed frustration to White House officials earlier this year that Blair and the White House legislative-affairs team were dismissive toward her, according to a person who heard the complaints. Her office didn’t respond to requests for comment.
“There is not a lot of deference” to Congress, said Erick Erickson, a conservative activist and radio host. “There’s a lot of, ‘Here’s what we are going to do, and you better get on board.’”
Trump’s lack of concern with following the Constitution is well known. However, the bigger question comes back to something I discussed last week; what is loyalty to this President worth?
If Trump Sycophants like Andy Harris aren’t safe from retribution, and if Elise Stefanik can’t get an endorsement to guarantee her a gubernatorial primary win, why keep carrying water for Trump at all?