emerge from Republicans on Capitol Hill.
A small number
of influential Republicans in the Senate are threatening to block appointments
to Trump's administration, derail his thaw with Russia and prevent the planned
wall on the border with Mexico.
The party held
onto control of the Senate at the Nov. 8 election but by only a thin margin,
putting powerful swing votes in just a few hands.
That empowers
Republican Senate mavericks such as Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of
Texas. Both were bitter rivals to Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential
primary.
Paul, a
libertarian lone wolf, says he will block Senate confirmations if Trump
nominates either former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani or former U.N. Ambassador
John Bolton to be secretary of state.
South
Carolina's Lindsay Graham has started publicly outlining places he might be
willing to oppose Trump. He is against the Mexican border wall and is
delivering warnings against Trump's intention to revoke legal status for
undocumented immigrants brought here as children - although that would not
require congressional approval.
Graham, a
traditional Republican foreign policy hawk, strongly disagrees with Trump's
attempt to improve ties with Russia.
"I am
going to be kind of a hard ass" on Russia, Graham told reporters recently.
"We can’t sit on the sidelines" and let cyber attacks blamed on
Russia "go unanswered."
The early
stirrings of opposition from Senate Republicans are a sign that the New York
businessman, who has never held public office, might run into harsh political
realities soon after taking office on Jan. 20.
Other Senators
who might defy Trump are Arizona's John McCain and Jeff Flake, Nebraska's Ben
Sasse, Florida's Marco Rubio, Maine's Susan Collins and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski,
said senior Senate aides and lawmakers.
These
lawmakers have ruffled feathers in the past and some have a good political
reason not to fear Trump: Paul, McCain, Murkowski and Rubio do not have to run
for reelection until 2022. Graham, Collins and Sasse will have to face the
voters in 2020; Cruz and Flake have an earlier election, in 2018.
Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whose job is to keep the Republicans in line,
knows the challenges ahead. A senior Republican aide said McConnell is “loathe”
to spend time trying to move bills that lack the needed Senate votes.
McConnell is
aware he will not have the support of some of his own lawmakers on bills that
could pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, such as
appropriating money to build the Mexican wall and further abortion
restrictions, the aide said.
DEMOCRATIC
STRAYS
But Trump has
a history of taming what appear to be well-entrenched Republican opponents. He
won the party nomination against all the odds and some of his staunchest
opponents like Rubio and Cruz ended up endorsing him.
And swing
votes in the Senate cut two ways. The Democrats have their own potential
renegades such as West Virginia's Joe Manchin, who has already declared his
support for Trump's nomination of Republican Senator Jeff Sessions as attorney
general.
Such swings by
Democrats toward Republicans may be likelier ahead of the 2018 elections, when
Democrats must defend more vulnerable Senate seats than Republicans. Senate
Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer must deal with this. Trump said over the
weekend he and Schumer "always had a good relationship."
Republicans
are likely to control only 52 seats in the 100-seat Senate, meaning three
defections within the party are enough to block cabinet appointments which only
require 50 votes. Vice President-elect Mike Pence would break 50-50 ties.
The task for
McConnell gets more difficult when it comes to passing legislation, which
requires 60 votes, known as cloture, to allow a bill to move forward. If Trump
plans to sign a bill while in office, perhaps one that will change immigration
law or restrict abortions, McConnell will have to keep all Republicans in line
and win over an additional eight Democrats.
Trump could
deliver on campaign promises that do not require legislative approval like
blocking the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal or ending the Iran nuclear
pact. The repeal of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, enjoys
robust Republican support and would be done through a legislative maneuver that
does not require any Democratic support.
Collins and
Murkowski have a history of crossing the aisle to join Democrats and could shy
from abortion restrictions.
Cruz has never
feared disrupting Senate business to prove a point or seek concessions in
legislation.
Sasse did not
waver from his staunch criticism of Trump through the campaign. Flake has said
he is “eating crow” after Trump’s win, but he could defect on immigration and
border security, issues he has previously joined with Democrats on.
Paul was asked
last week on MSNBC if he would put a hold on Giuliani or Bolton. In the Senate,
a hold allows a single senator to delay a confirmation. He left open the
possibility of such a move, saying, “I feel pretty strongly about it.”
He said:
"We have a 52-48 majority, all it would take is two or three Republicans
to say they can’t go along with Giuliani and can’t go along with Bolton.”
Reuters
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