News / Politics

GOP under pressure over pro-Trump approach, some believe it should distance itself

Wednesday, 29 April 2020 6:31 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 29 April 2020 6:31 PM ]

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on April 28, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

Some Republican strategists believe that the GOP should distance itself from US President Donald Trump as the GOP comes under pressure over conniving his vices in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic.

The party, which holds a 53-47 seat majority in the upper chamber of the Congress, has been extremely supportive of Trump’s policies since he took office after his 2016 victory.

“This may be an unprecedented circumstance in terms of public health and the budget, but it’s not unprecedented politically for the party in Congress to look at the incumbent president in the election and say ‘How can we protect ourselves from the drag of the White House?’ ” Vin Weber, a Republican strategist, told the Hill.

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The Republican senators should use oversight to distance themselves from Trump, some strategists suggested.

This is while there were concerns that Trump might interfere in the congressional oversight of coronavirus relief legislation.

“Over time, politicians in both the legislative and the executive branches have attempted to politicize IGs [inspectors general] and use them for gain but, even the appearance of political interference in their process cannot be tolerated,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley warned Trump in a letter last week.

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Although the Democratic-held House of Representatives has set up a special coronavirus relief committee, Republicans fear that a similar one in the Senate could be used by liberals as an anti-Trump podium in an election year.

“If we are going to be in DC with the coronavirus raging, it is critically important that we continue and actually ramp up our messaging and activities on the oversight front,” Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer told colleagues in the private call, according to a Democratic source familiar with the meeting. “We must hold the administration accountable for the mistakes they are making on the small-business program, hospitals, testing and more.”

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