As NewsNation contributor Lindsey Granger pointed out on Friday, the previous week had two trends butting up against one another: the final hour for the GOP to advance key agenda priorities, and the fight over some of President Donald Trump’s most controversial actions yet. And as Granger concludes, the week proved that while Trump likes to talk a big game, he’ll more likely strike out than not as his presidency crumbles around him.
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“Over the last several days, some of President Trump’s biggest priorities have either stalled, been blocked or collapsed under bipartisan opposition,” Granger explained. “And increasingly, the pushback isn’t just coming from Democrats — it’s coming from Republicans, judges and even members of his own administration.”
Granger pointed to Iran as an example, saying, “This week, the House delivered one of the most significant rebukes of Trump’s presidency when lawmakers passed a war powers resolution aimed at limiting his ability to continue military action without congressional approval. What made that vote notable wasn’t just the outcome, it was that four Republicans broke ranks and joined Democrats to get it across the finish line. That’s a clear signal that concerns about the conflict are extending beyond party lines and unlike the president, congressional members do think about Americans finances when it comes to the war in Iran.”
As for Trump’s widely criticized “anti-weaponization” fund, “The Justice Department abandoned plans for a controversial almost $1.8 billion fund that critics argued could have become a political “slush fund” benefiting Trump allies and even January 6 defendants. The proposal drew so much backlash — again, including from Republicans — that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche ultimately pulled the plug.” And while a budget reconciliation amendment failed to ban the fund entirely, the fact that it was sponsored by a Republican Senator and voted for by another suggests major cracks in Trump’s stranglehold on the GOP. To make matters worse for the president, four prominent Republican Senators then broke ranks to kill an amendment that would have implemented Trump’s much-demanded SAVE America Act, which critics say would disenfranchise tens of millions of voters.
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“Meanwhile,” said Granger, “another Trump initiative ran into a brick wall in federal court. A judge ordered that Trump’s name be removed from the Kennedy Center and ruled that the administration could not proceed with plans to effectively rebrand the institution without congressional approval. The court also halted plans to close the center for a lengthy renovation project. The message was simple: Congress named it the Kennedy Center, and only Congress can change that.”
All of this, says Granger, suggests a pattern: “The president is spending enormous political capital on fights that are generating resistance while some of his biggest policy goals remain unfinished…While the administration continues to launch controversial initiatives, the institutions designed to provide checks and balances are pushing back, because there is a right and a wrong way to do things. The result is a president who increasingly finds himself spending time defending plans instead of advancing them.”
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