Republicans Would Rather Cede Power To Democrats Than Their Own Voters

The Federalist 

Just when you think the Senate GOP couldn’t get any more useless than it already is, its members find a way to prove you wrong.

While the SAVE America Act continues to languish, the Department of Homeland Security (including ICE and Border Patrol) remains unfunded, and dozens of Trump nominees await confirmation, Senate Majority Leader John Thune did what any typical Republican would do. He sent the upper chamber home on a two-week vacation.

The entirely predictable scenario came about after Senate Republicans agreed with Democrats to pass a DHS package devoid of ICE and Border Patrol funding in the early hours of Friday morning. The GOP maintained that the latter two agencies would be funded via reconciliation to overcome Democrats’ procedural blockade.

To their credit, House Republicans rejected that swampy proposal. The lower chamber instead passed a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that temporarily funds DHS — including ICE and CBP.

But rather than force senators to stay in session to consider that measure, other proposals, or debate the SAVE America Act (that is, actually put up a fight), Thune sent everybody home.

Although “home” may not be the best descriptor for some senators. The unmarried and childless Lindsey Graham took a break from giving his asinine Iran takes to parade around Walt Disney World over the weekend. And he even got a bubble wand to prove it!

Demoralizing their base and independent voters may seem like a baffling decision considering that the 2026 midterms are mere months away. That is, until you realize that for some Republicans that’s the entire point.

As I previously wrote in these pages, GOP leadership’s refusal to abide by their voters’ wishes and actually fight for their interests (like the SAVE Act) stems from their desire to maintain the D.C. status quo. If Republican voters begin to see themselves as citizens who hold the power to influence their elected officials and enact real change, the do-nothing system the establishment has spent years building will come crashing down.

For too many within the GOP caucus, that is unacceptable. So unacceptable that many within the GOP conference would be fine ceding power to Democrats for an election cycle than to voters within their own party for generations.

This presents a difficult situation for Republican voters.

They can either sit out the midterms, thereby handing power to Democrats, who will unquestionably use their majorities to punish the American people for their decisions in the 2024 election. Or they can pinch their noses and vote for the same gutless Republicans who refuse to use the power they currently have.

Neither option is particularly tasteful. But the good news is it doesn’t have to be this way.

Primaries are underway in states across the country for federal, state, and local races. These contests give conservatives an opportunity to nominate candidates who will actually represent their interests and implement a vision worth voting for.

The Republican Party’s elected officials are often a reflection of the people who vote for them. If conservatives want better political representation, then it’s going to be incumbent upon them (and figures like President Trump) to make it happen.

Such a task won’t be easy. But allowing the status quo to remain is simply unsustainable.