Republicans are self-sabotaging

OPINION:

Last week, Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, grilled President Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, questioning Mr. Mullin’s “machismo” and citing his “anger issues.”

The department remains unfunded after it was forced to reset after questionable U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics in Minnesota under Secretary Kristi Noem. Those tactics ultimately led to Ms. Noem losing her job.

Two ICE protesters were killed during enforcement operations, giving Democrats the martyrs they needed to nationalize their opposition to Mr. Trump’s immigration policy. As a result, Democrats have refused to fund the department, organized nationwide ICE protests and demanded reforms at the agency that will erode federal immigration powers. All of it has energized their base.

The chaos that ensued in Minnesota led to daily negative press for the administration and convinced some Trump voters that the administration had gone too far. A new poll from the Pew Research Center shows that Mr. Trump is losing support among Hispanic voters, with 70% disapproving of his performance. Among Hispanics who voted for Mr. Trump in 2024, his support has declined by 12 percentage points.

“My goal in six months is that we’re not in the lead story every single day,” Mr. Mullin told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last week. “My goal is for people to understand we’re out there, we’re protecting them, and we’re working with them. My goal is to make every one of you guys proud.”

A noble goal and a sound message. Republicans need to help win back support as they gear up for the midterm elections. Instead of it being reported out of Mr. Mullin’s confirmation hearing, however, it was Mr. Paul’s temper tantrum based on his personal beef with Mr. Mullin that got the spotlight.

Mr. Paul was not serving the American public with his opposing vote. He was settling a personal score that no Republican or independent voter cares about.

Then there’s the fate of the SAVE America Act, a bipartisan voter integrity bill that 83% of the American public supports and a top legislative priority of Mr. Trump. Yet the Republican-controlled Senate, with a 53-47 majority, is struggling to pass the legislation.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican, has remained committed to preserving the filibuster, which requires 60 votes to pass legislation rather than a simple majority. He has opened the Senate floor to debate on the measure but has warned that Republicans don’t have the votes to pass it.

Now, Republican lawmakers have come up with a plan to convince their voters that they remain committed to the bill: a proposal to attach the act to a reconciliation bill to fund ICE, which would need only 50 votes to clear the Senate.

The only problem? It is doomed to fail, a fact these RINO senators know but won’t publicly acknowledge.

Reconciliation bills are budgetary bills, something the SAVE America Act certainly isn’t. Democratic senators will challenge the act in reconciliation, arguing that it wouldn’t produce any budgetary effects, which it wouldn’t, because it’s election legislation.

If the Senate parliamentarian, a nonpartisan congressional employee, agrees with the Democrats, then the act can’t be voted on through reconciliation.

The SAVE America Act can be advanced along paths other than nuking the filibuster. One is by forcing Democrats to hold a “talking filibuster,” which would allow a vote on the bill once every opponent had a chance to speak twice against every motion on the floor. It would jam up the Senate floor for months. Mr. Thune has resisted using this mechanism because it is “too complicated.”

Failure to pass the SAVE America Act will certainly anger Mr. Trump’s base, which Republicans will need to turn out for reelection.

Republican grassroots activist Scott Presler issued a grave warning on X: “I will tell you this: if the Senate ultimately does not pass the SAVE America Act, I will use all of the energy, hustle, and organizing efforts we used to elect these Senators into office as tools to peacefully & respectfully defeat them in their upcoming elections.”

Then there’s the economy. This is where the president risks losing it all with his ongoing intervention in Iran.

This week, mortgage rates crept back up to October’s level, nearing 7%, the economy shed 92,000 jobs in February, an unexpected setback, and gas prices are rising. Some financial analysts predict an interest rate hike at the next Federal Reserve meeting amid growing concerns about inflation.

A record share of Americans are carrying credit card debt and can’t pay their monthly bills, according to a joint report from The Century Foundation released Wednesday.

Approval of Mr. Trump’s handling of the economy, per the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, is now lower than at any point during the Biden administration, at 29%.

Administratively, Mr. Trump is doing everything possible to tackle America’s “affordability” crisis, but legislatively, things remain at a standstill in Congress.

Republicans are squandering their unified control of the White House, the House and the Senate. If they continue to deprive their voters of any new policy wins this year, then their voters will have no reason to show up at the polls in November.

• Kelly Sadler is the commentary editor at The Washington Times.