Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has gone to great lengths since the 2016 campaign season to prove his commitment to candidate Trump’s, and now to President Trump’s, success.
It’s a choice that not only reflects the will of his state’s voters, but also promotes the common good. Everyone patriotic, liberal or conservative, should want Trump’s presidency to be successful and as beneficial for the U.S. as possible.
The reciprocal idea of this is that Trump’s closest lieutenants and supporters on Capitol Hill should steer him away from self-destructive actions. McConnell should not be shy now in letting the Senate warn the president away from a course of action that could do him and the nation much harm.
This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee has been considering a bipartisan bill to protect special counsel Robert Mueller from arbitrary firing. This legislation may or may not provide the right mechanism for dealing with a perceived problem, but McConnell is making a big mistake by resisting the idea of giving it a floor vote.
McConnell pointed out earlier this week that Trump could veto the bill if it passed. But that’s not the point. Over and over again, and most recently this month, Trump has casually stoked the idea of firing Mueller because he’s annoyed he might himself be under the investigative microscope. Earlier this month, when asked directly by reporters whether he was going to fire Mueller, the president replied, “We’ll see.” This insouciant answer followed several presidential suggestions Mueller should not be conducting an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
This week, Trump reportedly told aides that both Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who would have to carry out the order to fire Mueller, are safe for now. The reason? Because Rosentein told Trump that he isn’t under investigation at this point.
In other words, Trump doesn’t understand that his annoyance at being investigated is not an appropriate reason for firing someone who might investigate him. This lack of understanding could end badly for the president and for the country.
Trump’s advisers have gone to great pains to discourage him from firing Mueller or from continuing his passive-aggressive public comments and tweets about the former FBI director, who is reportedly wrapping up the Russia investigation already.
This is why McConnell should be eager for the Senate to send a strong bipartisan message that firing Mueller would be unacceptable. This would reinforce those advisers’ warnings to Trump to stop making things worse for himself with veiled and unveiled threats.
The Russia investigation isn’t going to ensnare Trump. So the best thing Trump can do for himself and his country is to let Mueller finish his job.
If the Senate can encourage him to do that with a firm warning, then every senator who supports Trump, as much as those who oppose him, should be eager to issue it.
