Last updated on November 25, 2024 at 1:55 p.m
Trump is threatening Republican primary senators with Elon Musk's money if they vote against his candidate for attorney general, Matt Gaetz.
ABC News reported:
Well, Trump worked the phones. He has increased the pressure on Senate Republicans and even called some of them directly. This is because JD Vance is also making the pitch. Yesterday he was on Capitol Hill with Matt Gaetz and met with some of these Senate Republicans. And we are told it by a Trump
Official That those meetings were productive, but we're also told that the Trump team has been playing hardball behind the scenes, issuing ominous warnings to any Senate Republicans who might oppose his nominees.
A Trump adviser told our John Karl that the message is: If you're on the wrong side of the vote, you're buying a primary. That's all. And there's a man named Elon Musk who's going to fund it. The Trump adviser added that the president can decide on his cabinet. No one else.
Video:
ABC News reports that the Trump team issued this warning to Republican senators considering a vote against Matt Gaetz: “
“If you're on the wrong side of the vote, buy a primary.” That's all. And there's a guy named Elon Musk who's going to fund it” pic.twitter.com/d1T3KbYAXr
— Republicans Against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) November 21, 2024
This fight is not about Matt Gaetz. It's about power. Trump is trying to break Senate Republicans and force them to hand over their constitutional powers to him. Senate Republicans refuse to give up their power, so Trump has already escalated threats of primaries.
The problem is that incumbent senators rarely lose, and it's even rarer for them to lose a primary. The primary threat works well in the House of Representatives, but is not as effective in the Senate. Plus, the next election isn't until 2026 and Trump will be gone by 2028, so time is on Senate Republicans' side.
The idea that the president is the only person who decides his cabinet is not correct. Trump is trying to use threats and Elon Musk's money to rewrite the Constitution, and Matt Gaetz is his test case.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also White House press secretary and congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor's degree in political science. The focus of his thesis was public policy with an emphasis on social reform movements.
Awards and professional memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association
Latest posts from Jason Easley (See all)
Comments are closed.