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The midterm elections are less than 40 days away. It’s crunch time for both parties as the fight for Congress is as close as ever.
Democrats are eager to win any piece of leverage in Washington they can after two years of holding no power. Republicans are anxious to hold on to their slim majorities, and, in some cases, say they’re confident they can increase their tiny margins.
The onus is on Republicans right now. They control Congress and the White House. The midterm elections act as a performance review for the party in control, so it’s up to them to convince voters they are better at governing and that they deserve to remain in power.
Democrats have it a bit easier, but they’ll need to counter with a plan they argue is better than what Republicans have done — and we haven’t really seen that either. More on that later.
But it’s clear Republicans are in crunch mode. They’re looking for immediate, temporary fixes to some not-so-temporary problems.
They hope it will help them avoid a bloodbath in the midterms. It might be more complicated than that.
For example, the Trump administration is reportedly considering a plan to ban diesel exports for 90 days in an effort to bring down energy prices. While that could temporarily ease costs, some experts have warned it could cause even higher prices on the other end of the ban.
It shows the urgency Republicans feel to bring down prices at the gas pump as voters complain about expensive fill-ups. Affordability is the main issue for the midterms, so it’s obvious the Trump administration wants to take those attacks off the table for their vulnerable members.
That’s why Trump is also reportedly reconsidering his decision to increase foreign beef imports in an attempt to bring down high prices. There hasn’t been a decision on whether to actually change direction, but it’s part of the discussion — especially after the initial decision angered domestic farmers.
Meanwhile, some Republican candidates are publicly distancing themselves from Trump and the war in Iran in an attempt to separate themselves from an unpopular foreign conflict.
Here are the stats from my colleague Jason Swensen: Fifty-four percent of Utah voters now say they disapprove of U.S. military actions in Iran, according to the most recent Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics Survey conducted by Morning Consult. That’s a couple ticks higher than the national Iran War disapproval rate (52%).
A growing number of GOP candidates this week came out to say they want to see an “immediate end” to the war in Iran, breaking with the president. Other candidates and vulnerable incumbents have even removed references to Trump from their campaign websites.
I’ve written before about the risks some Republicans are taking by appearing with Trump on the campaign trail or attending the massive midterm convention in Dallas earlier this month. When a midterm election is a referendum on the current administration, which right now has falling approval ratings, it’s risky to tie yourself to that wagon.
Now it appears that some are trying to create some distance — and we’ll see if that works.
As for Democrats, as I said earlier, they have the easier go-around being in the minority. But they’ve got to have some cohesive messaging to make the argument of why they’d be better in the majority.
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Of course they have promised to investigate the Trump administration and the policies they find to be illegal. But in the same way that a Republican tying themselves to Trump might be risky, making your entire campaign an attack on the White House might not resonate the same way either.
Democratic leaders in Congress have been pressed by reporters to share what their agenda might entail if they win the majority, but it seems as though they are still hashing that out.
But some things you can expect to be at the top of their list are efforts to undo Medicaid cuts approved by Republicans last summer, repealing tariffs, ending the Iran war, and more.
“These are issues that we know unite Democrats,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said earlier this month. “But I don’t want to get out ahead of the caucus, because there are a whole host of things that need to be worked on.”
Stories Driving the Week
- Subpoena sons: Utah Sen. John Curtis sent a letter to Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Monday asking the committee to launch an inquiry into potential misuses of presidential family relationships for financial benefit, preferential treatment, or special access to certain people.
- Permitting talks on ice: Talks between top negotiators on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources and Environment and Public Works committees fell apart this week, leaving the status of the package unclear. Republican leaders expressed frustration with their Democratic counterparts, whom they accused of backpedaling on a deal that secured major concessions from the Trump administration.
- Truancy report: Lawmakers who are either retiring or are running for another office have missed hundreds of combined votes over the last two years, even as the voting calendar has shrunk in some cases to provide fewer voting opportunities. More from my analysis.
Republicans shoot down last effort to rein in Trump war powers before midterms
So even though Republicans are distancing themselves from President Donald Trump on the Iran issue, they still aren’t going far enough to hand Democrats a messaging win.
The Senate shot down the latest effort from Democrats to rein in Trump’s war powers, likely the last effort before the midterm elections. The war powers resolution failed in a 49-50 vote on Thursday, after only four Republican senators joined Democrats to vote in favor.
Both Utah senators voted against, including Sen. John Curtis who has been outspoken about the war. He told me that while there are still concerns about the war stretching out past the midterm elections, he believes Democratic efforts to step in have not been “serious.”
“To me, a serious war powers resolution would actually give some power to the president to end this, and that’s one of the problems with these, is they don’t give him any power,” he told me.
But Sen. Thom Tillis, one of the Republicans who voted with Democrats to end the conflict, said he hasn’t gotten information from the administration that gives him confidence the conflict is nearing an end.
“I said, in 60 days, I’m inclined to vote on something unless I’ve been properly briefed and convinced that we’re on the right track. I haven’t gotten that brief,” Tillis said on Thursday. “Close as I came yesterday, which was a good brief, but not enough and too late.”
So that basically ensures the war will last through November, which will have big implications for the midterms.
Quick Hits
From the Hill: Senate Republicans split on Curtis’ request to subpoena Trump Jr., Hunter Biden. … Lee SAVE Act on Senate floor, as California senator blocks it. … Retiring lawmakers miss hundreds of votes this Congress as they eye the exits.
From the White House: Trump, Xi discuss artificial intelligence and pandas after trade truce. … Why the Trump administration is dropping 750K Americans from Obamacare. … Trump justifies Iran war at United Nations, renames artificial intelligence.
From the courts: Judge blocks Trump’s media ban, restoring credentials for several outlets. … White House launches Trump TV amid feud, lawsuit with media.
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