As crisis swirls, Trump faces mounting pressure in party
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with retail industry leaders at the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday.
AFP, Washington :
Donald Trump and his White House have come in for intense criticism in the president’s dizzying first weeks in office, and the rising sound of discord is not just coming from opposition Democrats.
Republicans on Capitol Hill and outside the Washington Beltway are increasingly venting their frustration and worry-sometimes publicly but more often among themselves-about the new administration’s missteps, speedy policy rollouts, abrasive tone and often tenuous relation to facts.
“We shouldn’t be having these questions now” in the first month of a new presidency, said a Republican senator who requested anonymity so he could discuss the issue more freely. “We are concerned.”
In a dozen AFP interviews, lawmakers, party grandees and congressional staff have painted a picture of an administration struggling to get up to speed on various fronts, trampling on White House protocol, and acting hastily instead of with deliberation and prudence as they pivot away from the policies of Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama. The interviews were carried out shortly before explosive revelations in The New York Times that members of Trump’s campaign and other aides were in repeated contact with Russian intelligence officials prior to November’s election.
Among Republicans, strident accusations of incompetence have come from Senator John McCain.
“It’s dysfunctional as far as national security is concerned. Who’s in charge? Who’s in charge!” an exasperated-looking McCain told reporters Tuesday, after top Trump aide Michael Flynn resigned amid charges he discussed US sanctions policy with Russia’s ambassador prior to the inauguration, then misled Vice President Mike Pence about the contacts.
“Who’s making policy? Who’s making decisions? I don’t know of anyone outside of the White House that knows,” McCain said.
Trump repeatedly proclaimed he would “drain the swamp” in Washington and shake up the establishment.
“I’m just doing what I said I would do,” he insisted Monday, vowing to keep translating his campaign promises into White House action.
He has proven time and again that he will do things differently as president, refusing to tone down his Twitter talk, issuing sweeping immigration restrictions and then clashing with the judicial branch which blocked them, and filling his inner circle with controversial confidants like strategist Steve Bannon. And Trump has set his Republican Party on edge.
“Nobody’s freaking out, but they are seeking reassurance” from higher-ups that the White House is not stumbling into crisis, a Republican congressional aide said, reflecting on the mood among colleagues on Capitol Hill.
Aides, House and Senate staffers and Republican operatives have huddled over drinks expressing hope that the new administration will “get it together,” the aide said.
Donald Trump and his White House have come in for intense criticism in the president’s dizzying first weeks in office, and the rising sound of discord is not just coming from opposition Democrats.
Republicans on Capitol Hill and outside the Washington Beltway are increasingly venting their frustration and worry-sometimes publicly but more often among themselves-about the new administration’s missteps, speedy policy rollouts, abrasive tone and often tenuous relation to facts.
“We shouldn’t be having these questions now” in the first month of a new presidency, said a Republican senator who requested anonymity so he could discuss the issue more freely. “We are concerned.”
In a dozen AFP interviews, lawmakers, party grandees and congressional staff have painted a picture of an administration struggling to get up to speed on various fronts, trampling on White House protocol, and acting hastily instead of with deliberation and prudence as they pivot away from the policies of Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama. The interviews were carried out shortly before explosive revelations in The New York Times that members of Trump’s campaign and other aides were in repeated contact with Russian intelligence officials prior to November’s election.
Among Republicans, strident accusations of incompetence have come from Senator John McCain.
“It’s dysfunctional as far as national security is concerned. Who’s in charge? Who’s in charge!” an exasperated-looking McCain told reporters Tuesday, after top Trump aide Michael Flynn resigned amid charges he discussed US sanctions policy with Russia’s ambassador prior to the inauguration, then misled Vice President Mike Pence about the contacts.
“Who’s making policy? Who’s making decisions? I don’t know of anyone outside of the White House that knows,” McCain said.
Trump repeatedly proclaimed he would “drain the swamp” in Washington and shake up the establishment.
“I’m just doing what I said I would do,” he insisted Monday, vowing to keep translating his campaign promises into White House action.
He has proven time and again that he will do things differently as president, refusing to tone down his Twitter talk, issuing sweeping immigration restrictions and then clashing with the judicial branch which blocked them, and filling his inner circle with controversial confidants like strategist Steve Bannon. And Trump has set his Republican Party on edge.
“Nobody’s freaking out, but they are seeking reassurance” from higher-ups that the White House is not stumbling into crisis, a Republican congressional aide said, reflecting on the mood among colleagues on Capitol Hill.
Aides, House and Senate staffers and Republican operatives have huddled over drinks expressing hope that the new administration will “get it together,” the aide said.
