It will take a courageous Congress to stop Donald Trump’s most corrupt instincts.
Trump is not letting those instincts go. The presidential election cycle wasn’t just about re-election: It was about avoiding justice and more importantly, for him, punishing those who oppose him. Many times this year he has threatened his perceived opponents, the press and even members of his own political party. Anyone who stands in his way is vulnerable. We should also assume that, since he was last president, he’s honed his ability to lash out against his opponents.
There is a recent proof of concept that a Republican Congress can be up for the job.
We now know that in his first administration, he weaponized his Department of Justice. The department recently released its inspector general’s report detailing the misuse of government jurisdiction in 2017 in obtaining the phone and email records of his two most vocal and effective critics, myself and former Rep. Adam Schiff, now a U.S. senator. And Trump’s first term had much more qualified individuals than the people he wants to appoint to his new administration. One can only imagine what these out-for-blood, eager-to-please-the-boss class of appointees will do on behalf of their leader.
Predicting that the next Trump administration will investigate and prosecute Trump’s enemies is not an act of conjecture — it’s an act of reading. Like reading FBI Director-appointee Kash Patel’s book, in which he lists his enemies of the state. While the list “only includes current and former Executive Branch officials and is not exhaustive,” he lists me and Schiff first among “other corrupt actors of the first order,” along with the “entire” news media. If confirmed as FBI director, Patel will carry out Trump’s wishes to prosecute and imprison members of the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack.
These acts of intimidation and fearmongering in the MAGA tent aren’t new, but they carry significant weight now that Trump is the president-elect. Trump is laying the groundwork for an unleashed administration. And it doesn’t help that the Supreme Court essentially gave Trump the green light to do almost anything he wants with absolute immunity.
Who can America turn to for checks and balances? To hold up the rule of law? What will a completely unchecked, unleashed and guardrail-free Trump do to his dissenters? How will Trump be successfully fenced in?
The answer is Congress.
That may be laughable to some, but there is a recent proof of concept that a Republican Congress can be up for the job. Just ask Matt Gaetz, Trump’s choice for attorney general. Or, rather, his former choice, before Gaetz withdrew after failing to win over enough GOP senators.
My hope is that, when it comes to Patel and other like-minded Trump picks, the Senate gets this right.
I’ve learned in the many years of taking on Trump that if you’re counting on a single Republican congressman or senator to stop him, forget it. They’ll shrink. He’ll overpower them. They’ll fear they will become public enemy No. 1 among conservatives and their lives will be turned upside down with threats to their safety and country club memberships.
But if they can take a silent, collective action, they can be effective. No one can point to a specific single senator who blocked the Gaetz nomination. That’s not an accident. By banding together, a half-dozen senators said, “Hell no” and made Gaetz’s path impossible. Do they have it in them to do it again? And again? And again, until the message is received by Trump that they will not rubber stamp America’s path to a dictatorship?
My hope is that, when it comes to Patel and other like-minded Trump picks, the Senate gets this right. I am, admittedly, biased: Not only did Trump’s DOJ unlawfully go through my communication records, but this past year alone, his and MAGA’s attacks against me brought dozens of credible law enforcement investigations into death threats against me. People are in jail for wanting to kill me and my kids. I spent $315,000 this past Congress on personal security to protect myself and my family. I know the consequences of dissent.
What happened to me should not happen to anyone else. But even had I not had those experiences, Trump’s crusade to crucify his enemies is unjustifiable. Thankfully, we are not helpless against Trump’s threats to be a dictator on Day One. Congress is still the last, best check to stop Kash Patel from carrying out a lawful revenge tour. The power to halt Trump’s radical hitmen is in our hands. Through collective action and bipartisanship, we can ensure that the rule of law stays in balance. The direction that America takes is completely dependent on how Congress responds.