20 REPUBLICANS BUCK LEADERSHIP TO PASS LABOR REGULATIONS BILL

Fitzpatrick — along with Lawler, LaLota, and Bresnahan — also defied the president to pass expanded Obamacare subsidies through the House in January. Republican leaders rightly opposed that policy because it really makes healthcare more expensive for working families. No matter: These Republicans effectively handed the speaker’s gavel over to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) for the vote. Why would they do anything to help a Democrat who’s surely going to begin impeachment proceedings against the president if his party takes control of the House next year?

Time and again, these Republicans have abandoned Trump. Lawler and LaLota tried to squeeze him into emboldening blue states — such as their own state of New York —  into more tax hikes and spending by giving preferential treatment to higher state and local taxes, reversing a reform the president passed in his first administration. In such a tightly divided Congress, party unity is especially important. But it’s equally important to stand for good policies — and oppose bad ones.

Which brings us to the most recent example of Republican congressmen undermining Trump’s agenda. In May, these seven Republicans joined with Democrats to force a June vote on the so-called Faster Labor Contracts Act, and on June 9, they voted with Democrats to pass the bill through the House. The bill is based on Democrats’ PRO Act — a bill that Trump and Republican leaders have strongly opposed because it would undermine the president’s pro-worker victories.

Specifically, the Faster Labor Contracts Act would empower a federal agency that Trump has called to eliminate. It could then impose a collective bargaining agreement on workers if the union and employer don’t reach an agreement within three months. But the workers wouldn’t even get a vote, fundamentally gutting workplace democracy. As Trump’s administration said in 2020, “Involuntary contracts that do not work for employees or their employers could force layoffs or even bankruptcies — ultimately, harming workers.” This bill is one of the Democrats’ top priorities. It should never be a priority for any Republican.

Several of these Republicans pulled a similar stunt in January, when they killed House leadership’s plan to vote on the Save Local Business Act. The bill would have prevented a heavy-handed mandate from the Obama and Biden years that put many franchises, subcontractors, and small businesses at risk of layoffs or even closure. Yet LaLota said that he and his colleagues would only support a watered-down version. Trump has proposed a regulation that’s similar in intent to the legislation that was killed, yet by refusing to support the bill, these Republicans are all but ensuring that a future Democrat president will overturn this necessary reform.

TRUMP BLASTS REPUBLICANS WHO VOTED AGAINST HIM IN WAR POWERS RESOLUTION: ‘UNPATRIOTIC’

With Republicans like these, who needs Democrats? Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) can’t get important legislation across the finish line because his own majority has become a de facto minority at key moments. Jeffries can’t believe his luck. He’s not speaker, but he gets to act like one anyway, thanks to the actions of a minuscule number of Republicans.

Trump and House leaders shouldn’t reward this bad behavior. Any Republican who voted to give Democrats control of the floor should be held accountable — especially after all the other ways they’ve thumbed their nose at the president. Trump doesn’t need a Republican majority that repeatedly undermines him. He needs a Republican majority that acts like one — and actually stands with him to make America great again.

John Tillman is CEO of the American Culture Project.