'Reeks of regret': Republicans suffering 'remorse and shame' over 'grudgingly' obeying Trump

Although Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) were highly critical of the Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill," they ultimately voted "yes" anyway — unlike Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and Tom Tillis (R-North Carolina), all of whom wouldn't budge and voted "no" in the end.

In a biting opinion column published on July 21, the New York Times' Frank Bruni points to Murkowski and Hawley as two examples of Republicans acquiescing to Trump even though no good will come of it.

"Is Sen. Josh Hawley having second thoughts?" Bruni argues. "Sure looks that way. Last week, a mere 14 days after the Missouri Republican did as he was told and voted for President Trump's megabill, he introduced legislation that would counter that monstrosity's cuts to Medicaid and repair the very damage he'd just endorsed. It redefines the flip-flop. And reeks of regret."

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Bruni continues, "So does Sen. Thom Tillis' recent decision not to seek reelection…. I salute Tillis; candor, no matter how belated. But I see it as something else, too: atonement. There's a lot of that going around, as politicians and others who submitted to Trump reckon with the toll of that obeisance."

According to Bruni, "What have I done?" are words that will be used by "more and more" Republicans who "have grudgingly and not so grudgingly supported Trump."

"The buyer's remorse that more than a few voters feel is a common condition when politicians don't deliver; some of Trump's allies are in the grip of a different ailment," Bruni warns. "Theirs was a willed gullibility — they have always known deep down who Trump is. They wagered that they could live with that. They made a Faustian bargain, abetting him so that he didn't eviscerate them."

Bruni continues, "They just didn't understand the full price they'd pay…. To console and redeem themselves, Republican lawmakers are creating a whole new Kama Sutra of contortions, whereby they justify, or even nullify, yes votes with postscripts and asterisks such as Hawley's newly proposed legislation and Lisa Murkowsi's plea — after she, too, voted for Trump's big beautifulness — that the House perform major surgery on it. Sorry, Sen. Murkowski, that patient was dead, and you knew it: Remorse and shame were etched on your face as you sought to explain yourself."

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Frank Bruni's full New York Times column is available at this link (subscription required).