House fails to pass two key votes

There is a lot happening in the Republican Party, and President Trump really needs to take heed of this silent warning that he is being given.

We are seeing more pockets of resistance within the party, and it is even impacting basic votes that we would normally expect to sail through Congress. The latest example: two failed votes in the House that show either Trump is losing grip or the GOP House leadership is not doing its job.

Senate Breaking Point #1

Before we get to the House, we have to look at some problems that Trump is having in the Senate that are clear shots across the bow of the White House.

The first of those is in how a small group of GOP senators is looking to dial back Trump’s presidential powers relative to his actions in Venezuela.

Five GOP senators are siding with Democrats to block Trump from making any more military moves against Venezuela without congressional approval.

Trump has bullied and threatened all of them, but his threats are falling on deaf ears, and they are going to try to force him to veto this legislation.

Senate Breaking Point #2

The second point of contention with the GOP Senate is the recent investigation launched against Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.

For the most part, it is the same group of Republicans that are now questioning the legitimacy of the DOJ for launching what appears to be a vindictive investigation against Powell because he is not dropping interest rates quickly enough for Trump.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who has been a thorn in Trump’s side from day one, stated, "It's clear the administration's investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion."

When you have Republicans pushing Democrat talking points, you have a very serious problem.

Breaking the House

Along with the Senate frustrations, the House failed to pass two measures that one would have thought would have been no-brainers.

The first was a measure by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) to cut funding by 20% to the D.C. District and Appeals Courts, as well as targeted funding for the staffs of Judges James Boasberg and Deborah Boardman, both judges who Republicans claim have gone rogue against Trump (both have been mentioned for impeachment).

The second measure that failed was presented by Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ), which was to defund the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which Crane characterized as a “rogue organization that fuels global censorship and domestic propaganda.”

This is a sign that Republicans are going into self-preservation mode. Trump’s agenda is no longer at the top of the list, and protecting their seats in what is going to be a difficult midterm election has taken top priority. This happening so soon is not a good sign for Trump, as the party is now turning him into a lame duck, a full year before the midterms were expected to make that happen.