Republican
party torn by claims of White House chaos
Doubts
grow among party elite over competence of Trump’s inner circle
YESTERDAY by: David
J Lynch and Courtney Weaver in Washington
Republicans
are struggling to advance their policy agenda in the aftermath of
President Donald Trump’s confused rollout of a ban on refugees and
all travellers from seven Muslim nations entering the US.
The escalating
reaction to Mr Trump’s executive order on immigration is also
raising concerns about the workings of his White House staff less
than two weeks into the presidency. In private conversations, some
establishment Republicans are voicing growing doubts about the
administration’s competence.
“Chaos is not
sustainable,” said John Weaver, a veteran Republican strategist.
“You’re not ultimately going to be able to advance a coherent
agenda through Congress if every day is DefCon 1, all-hands-on-deck.
They better get that fixed.”
Adding to the
tumultuous atmosphere, Mr Trump fired Sally Yates, the acting
attorney-general, on Monday night saying she had “betrayed” the
Department of Justice by refusing to defend the order in court.
Republicans’
predicament was evident on Tuesday during the House leadership’s
weekly press conference where lawmakers sought unsuccessfully to
change the subject from the travel ban. Paul Ryan, House Speaker,
told reporters that Republicans were moving forward on repealing
Obamacare, ending the “war on coal jobs” and overhauling the
regulatory process. “We want to pave the way for more growth and
higher wages, “ he said.
When reporters asked
about Mr Trump’s travel ban, Mr Ryan said the president’s order
had erroneously included legal permanent residents of the US — or
“green card” holders — and those with special visas, such as
former interpreters for the US military.
But Mr Ryan said he
had been reassured by a private conversation on Monday with John
Kelly, secretary for homeland security. “On a going-forward basis,
he’ll make sure that things are done correctly,” the speaker
said, adding that the order’s confused rollout was “regrettable”.
Mr Kelly said on
Tuesday, in his first public remarks on the matter, that it was “not
a Muslim ban”.
Mr Ryan said tighter
vetting procedures are needed for refugees and other travellers from
the seven nations covered by the ban: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya,
Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The uproar over the
travel order introduced late on Friday afternoon has grown by the
day. Spontaneous airport protests erupted over the weekend in major
cities, including New York, San Francisco, Atlanta and Dallas. On
Monday, former president Barack Obama joined the critics, saying:
“American values are at stake.”
The measure also
drew fire from more than 1,000 US diplomats who signed an unusual
cable of dissent and the chief executives of multinationals, such as
Coca-Cola, Ford and Goldman Sachs.
[The
travel ban] could become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against
terrorism
John McCain and
Lindsey Graham
In a worrisome
development for the White House, chairmen of both the Senate armed
services and foreign relations committees, John McCain and Robert
Corker, criticised the ban. In a joint statement, Mr McCain and
Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina senator, said Mr Trump’s
initiative could “become a self-inflicted wound in the fight
against terrorism”.
In total, more than
two dozen Republican senators and congressmen have spoken out against
the travel restrictions.
Senator Jeff Flake
of Arizona called the executive order “unacceptable”; Nebraska’s
Senator Ben Sasse labelled it “too broad”; and Dean Heller of
Nevada said he was “deeply troubled by the appearance of a
religious ban”.
Aside from the
politics, Republican elected officials expressed ire over the way the
executive order was introduced — particularly the lack of
co-ordination between the White House and government agencies.
Mr Corker told
reporters he had not seen Mr Trump’s order until after the
president signed it, while Chuck Grassley, the Republican head of the
Senate judiciary committee, said he was not involved.
Senate aides also
reported brimming frustration inside the Department of Homeland
Security and the Department of State, where officials were still
struggling with interpreting and implementing the order.
“People
are frustrated,” said one senior Republican aide. “[The executive
order] was Friday — and now it’s Tuesday. And we still can’t
get straight answers,” he said, noting that morale was low in the
agency departments.
Senior Republican
aide
Behind closed doors,
Republican senators and representatives are more caustic, flinging
accusations that the new White House team was overrun by
“Kremlinology” and “back-stabbing”.
Particularly
concerning have been reports that Mr Kelly, whose agency is
responsible for border controls, was not consulted about the sweeping
changes to visa and refugee programs, and has faced resistance to his
hiring choices.
While the fallout in
elite circles has been intense, Mr Trump’s voters approve of his
actions, according to Trent Lott, a former Senate majority leader.
“People in the heartland, people who voted for Trump, are saying:
Yes!” he said in a telephone interview.
Mr Lott rebuffed the
critics who say the White House is hobbled by divisions between
traditional Republicans such as Reince Priebus, chief of staff, and
nationalists led by Steve Bannon, former Breitbart publisher.
“They probably
need more staff,” Lott said. “I’ve been trying to work with
them on infrastructure and it’s hard to know who you need to talk
to. They need some more experienced, substantive people.”
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