{"id":544,"date":"2026-07-31T19:41:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T19:41:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=544"},"modified":"2026-07-31T19:41:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T19:41:53","slug":"trumps-dwindling-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frontierhousingreport.com\/?p=544","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Dwindling Power"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On Thursday, President Trump said he was prepared to withdraw the nomination of Todd Blanche to be attorney general rather than accede to demands by two Republican senators to kill the sweetheart deal that gives Trump permanent immunity from the IRS. He said on social media that he could just wait until the two Senate holdouts, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, were out of office in the next Congress and then reappoint Blanche; in the meantime, Blanche could function on an acting basis.<\/p>\n

Read more Top Farmworker Fear Is Family Separation<\/a><\/p>\n

But as Cornyn quickly pointed out, there is no guarantee that the next Senate will produce a majority willing to confirm Blanche. More importantly, this breach of ordinary courtesy only stiffens the resolve of other Republican senators not to bend to Trump\u2019s wishes.<\/p>\n

More from Robert Kuttner<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Exhibit A is the majority leader, John Thune of South Dakota. When Trump tried to put all legislative business on hold until Congress passed the SAVE America Act to give him control of elections, Thune refused to do his bidding. Thune and his caucus also refused to accede to Trump\u2019s demand to get rid of the filibuster.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gets obviously frustrated with me because he sees me as the person that\u2019s the impediment to some of the things he wants to get done,\u201d Thune said in an interview yesterday with Politico. \u201cBut as I continually point out \u2026 I don\u2019t make this stuff up. Math is math \u2026 He thinks I can wave the magic wand. I wish it were that easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Thune is trying to wrap up the legislative session so that members of his caucus can get home to campaign. At stake is the Republican majority and Thune\u2019s job as leader. \u201cYou end up \u2026 basically for the 60 or 90 days heading into an election, fighting among Republicans, which to me seems really counterproductive, going into an election that\u2019s pretty high-stakes,\u201d Thune said.<\/p>\n

Read more Ida Tarbell: The Journalist Who Took Down Rockefeller<\/a><\/p>\n

What stands in the way is budget reconciliation. The latest obstacle to getting a reconciliation bill passed is Democratic demands, shared by some Republicans such as Susan Collins of Maine, that Congress kill a proposed OMB rule that would give Trump\u2019s White House political control over all federal grants. One option under discussion is for Congress to pass a continuing resolution that would keep the government funded through December 4 and sideline the proposed OMB rule. And once again, Senate Republicans are stiffing Trump and treating him as irrelevant.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Trump\u2019s endorsed candidate for the South Carolina seat of Lindsey Graham, the late senator\u2019s sister, Darline, is in big trouble. Trump impulsively proposed her for interim senator and then to run for the full term, but without taking local political soundings. If he had, Trump would have found that she is likely to go down to defeat.<\/p>\n

A dozen Republican candidates have filed to run in the August 11 primary election, and then South Carolina has a top-two runoff election on August 25. Darline Graham is largely unknown in local political circles, and the field includes Reps. Ralph Norman and Russell Fry, and former Gov. Mark Sanford. Most South Carolina pols would be surprised if Graham even made the runoff. The state\u2019s GOP voters have already rejected Trump\u2019s endorsed candidate for governor.<\/p>\n

Even odder, given Trump\u2019s abrupt endorsement, is the fact that Graham\u2019s own record is decidedly non-Trumpian. Her whole public career has been as an advocate for the blind and the disabled. She led South Carolina\u2019s Commission for the Blind, and has had other government posts working for vocational rehabilitation for people with disabilities. In 2026, she was elected president of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind. She seems to be a person of genuine compassion, a concept unknown to Trump.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump to HIV and Cancer Patients: Get Back to Work<\/a><\/p>\n

The thing about power based on intimidation is that you have it\u2014until you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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On Thursday, President Trump said he was prepared to withdraw the nomination of Todd Blanche to be attorney general rather than accede to demands by two Republican senators to kill the sweetheart deal that gives Trump permanent immunity from the IRS. 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