Also in the Senate, Republicans joined Democrats in finding that Russia meddled in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump. These opportunistic undertakings also reveal that mainstream Republicans in both the House and Senate have actual power, if only they would use it more often. Surely a block of 25 or so House Republicans and three or four moderates in the Senate could have demanded a more balanced and fiscally responsible tax bill. Likewise, House Republicans could use the very same procedure being deployed for DACA (a discharge petition) to shake loose a bill to protect the special counsel. Fourth, there is no reason these topics couldn’t be addressed as a matter of regular order in the six months before the midterm elections.

Source: Washington Post May 17, 2018 14:26 UTC