As President Donald Trump and his lackeys are busy unilaterally dismantling large portions of the federal government, many are left wondering why Congressional Republicans have abdicated not only their legislative responsibilities but their constitutional obligations to ensure that our government maintains its robust system of checks and balances.
Judging by the remarks made by Reps. Eric Burlison and Gary Palmer during a recent "Fresh Freedom" podcast, it doesn't appear as if the GOP has plans to demonstrate that this country has three fully-functioning branches of government any time soon.
Asked about how House Republicans are reacting to the Trump administration's blitzkrieg during his first weeks in office, all Burlison could muster was hope that Congress will eventually find "the courage" to meekly fall in line and pass the legislation necessary to legitimize Trump's rampage.
"This is a whirlwind," Burlison. "I don't know that we can keep up with everything that's going on, but it seems like Congress is going to have to be reactive, which is probably good. From the last two years in my experiences, Congress is not real bold so I'm glad to see Trump being bold and maybe it gives us the courage to come in afterwards and pass the policies."
Palmer was noticeably less enthusiastic about the manner in which the Trump administration has been operating, noting that Congress has been caught "in the backdraft of Trump."
"Trump's on the right track, but I think they need to realize that it's not that Congress needs a role, it's that Congress has a role and that the Constitution comes into play in some of these [issues]," Palmer said. "Like this discussion about eliminating the Department of Education. Well, that can't be done by executive order. The Department of Education was created by act of Congress and it will take an act of Congress [to eliminate it]."
Palmer said that he had participated in a meeting with Elon Musk about his Department of Government Efficiency effort, during which he "pointed out that there's some things that they want to do in terms of rolling back regulations that are going be subject to the Administrative Procedures Act, which will require public comment."
Palmer noted that while there are ways to avoid those requirements, the Trump administration cannot simply act unilaterally on a lot of these issues.
"As fast as the president's going, we need to remind him that not only does he need to work with Congress, in some of these he has to work with Congress," Palmer said.
Of course, it's easy for GOP representatives like Palmer to insist that there are constitutional limits on Trump's power when the audience is an obscure podcast with 80 views. The real test is whether they are willing to tell that to the administration itself and, in doing so, face the wrath of Trump and his MAGA minions.
So far, their silence speaks volumes.
