A win for Trump
Richard Fulton
There has been an outbreak of bipartisanism in Washington D.C. but we don’t know if this represents an epidemic or just a three-day cold.
The leader of the movement last week was none other than President Trump. With a plateful of work to be done by congress before they take yet another break in early October, Trump brought together the leadership of both parties in congress and brokered a deal.
Mind you, the Republican leadership was shocked that the president leaned toward the Democrats, specifically Senate minority leader Chuck Shumer and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi. And they may not forgive him.
The first three items on congress’ agenda were to be: raising the debt ceiling, monies to begin to attack the aftermath of the Harvey and Irma disasters, and the budget. Each was tagged to create conflict between Republicans and Democrats in both houses.
Republicans especially have had problems getting united on these issues. Ultra conservative Republicans (especially in the House) were poised to use the bills as leverage toward issues next on the agenda like tax reform and patching the Affordable Care Act.
What the president agreed to was to combine into one bill disaster aid, the debt ceiling, and the budget. Mind you, he did not consult with his Republican allies but simply made the deal during the combined meeting.
Many Republicans were livid. But the combined bill passed because disaster aid would not wait and the logic of increasing the debt limit was just too compelling. And Republicans, who will need their president down the line, did not dare scuttle the deal.
Presidents must appear to be sympathetic and effective when dealing with disasters, so this was a no brainer for Trump. But the surprise was his ability to cut through the dysfunctional Washington game of holding the debt limit hostage to other issues.
After all, the debt limit is stupid. Congress passes multiple bills spending money and then makes a drama out of paying for the money they already authorized to spend. It’s like you or I piling up credit card bills and then telling the company “well, I have a limit on what I want to pay for.”
So, President Trump’s naivety concerning Washington politics pays off in this case. He says that it is stupid to have a debt ceiling since the bills must be paid regardless. Not paying them (not raising the ceiling) means government closes and the U.S. credit rating goes up costing billions down the line.
He is practical and this was a practical solution. As was getting disaster funds swiftly. The issue of passing budget bills, however, was dealt with the way congress always deals with it. They kicked the decisions down the road.
So, the three-sided bill began the disaster relief (more will be needed for Harvey and Irma), it raised the debt ceiling, and it left the fight over budget bills to be finalized six months down the road.
If President Trump can marshal his Republicans, a huge if, to be pragmatic and compromising on the coming issues of the Daca dilemma, tax reform, and rescuing the Obama health plan then he can rescue a shaky presidency.
Mind you, he will have to focus and be more engaged with congress and its work than he has proven to be most of the time. Follow through might create that epidemic we need so badly. And, of course, he has to solve the increasingly haunting Russia connections problem.
As for now, however, that bipartisan act is a win for Trump.
Richard Fulton is an emeritus professor of political science.
