Dissent bubbles within GOP as Trump strikes deal with Dems — ANALYSIS

WASHINGTON — Meet President Donald Trump’s new best friends. He calls them “Chuck and Nancy,” not Senate Minority Leader Schumer or House Minority Leader Pelosi.

He met with them Wednesday morning, along with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan. The sit-down ended with Trump breezing past the GOP’s wish list and giving Democrats what they wanted – a three-month extension of government funding to avoid a shutdown, an increase in the debt ceiling and aid for victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Later that afternoon, appearing before supporters in North Dakota, Trump crooned about their “great bipartisan meeting.”

Sure, his administration just rescinded the Obama-era policy Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, that gave temporary work permits and deportation protections to undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children. Still, he told reporters, “Chuck and Nancy would like to see something happen” to restore the policy, “and so do I.”

Then Thursday morning, at Pelosi’s request, Trump posted a reassuring tweet, “For all of those (DACA) that are concerned about your status during the 6 month period, you have nothing to worry about — No action!”

Earlier this week, Schumer had called Trump’s move on DACA “heartless” and Pelosi said it was “cruel.” Yet here was a president famous for not forgetting the smallest of slights embracing the Democratic leaders, while giving GOP leaders the cold shoulder.

Is this bold bipartisanship? Shrewd deal-making? A tantrum aimed at GOP leaders who failed to deliver on a health care bill? Or a savvy way to instill fear among recalcitrant Republicans? Once again, Washington insiders found themselves trying to figure out why Trump did what he did – and who will bear the burden he tossed onto others’ backs.

Short-term winners

Outside the beltway, Trump’s decision seems pretty straightforward. After critics have spent most of 2017 harping on the Republicans’ failure to reach across the aisle, Trump gave Democrats what they wanted at a time when Congress needed to raise the debt ceiling to avoid financial default, needed to pass spending legislation to prevent a government shutdown and needed to provide financial aid to areas hard hit by natural disaster.

Short term, it’s a winner for Trump — and Democrats.

Ryan and McConnell had wanted an 18-month extension of the government’s borrowing limit, which they shortened to six months when Pelosi and Schumer stood their ground. Both leaders have said they will support the resulting measure, which sailed through the Senate Thursday.

At a Thursday press conference, Pelosi said that an 18-month window would have destroyed “any negotiating leverage that we have.” The Wednesday deal “frankly strengthened our hand for three months.”

“I actually think it’s great,” gushed Democratic strategist Maria Cardona. “I think this president got rolled and he probably doesn’t know it yet. I think the Democrats got leverage in a situation when they probably shouldn’t have any. The Republicans have the Senate, White House and House. What’s left for Democratic leaders is to decide what we want to get in December.”

Inside the GOP conference, dissent bubbles. Seventeen GOP senators voted against the debt/disaster/spending bill on Thursday. When the House votes on the measure, probably Friday, leadership expects to lose many more Republican votes.

“Trump isn’t thinking about long-term strategy,” said a GOP strategist with ties to the White House. “All he wants are wins right now in order to bolster his image as a deal maker since there haven’t been any legislative victories besides the Gorsuch confirmation. He’s like a political day trader that just cares about instant gratification rather than three months down the road. Republicans are adjusting too slowly to this new way of governing and if they aren’t careful, Trump will bulldoze right over them to get to a win.”

Before the year is out, Democrats likely will have a new notch in their belts – something even hard-core conservative Republicans acknowledge.

“I suspect this will go like it normally goes,” Andy Roth of the fiscally-conservative Club for Growth said of the expected voted in the House Friday. “Most Democrats will support this and most moderate Republicans will support it. And then rank-and-file Republicans who like to give lip service to conservatism and the true conservatives will oppose it.”

Civil war in the GOP?

The Trump deal not only strengthened the Democrats’ bargaining hand, it also could spark more civil war in the contentious Grand Old Party. Old-school Republicans blame Trump and hardliners from groups like the Club for Growth blame the GOP establishment.

“Try to imagine being a congressional Republican and never knowing what the president is going to do or say at any given moment,” said Mark Corallo, a GOP strategist who briefly worked for Trump’s legal team. “Whether you are an ally for the president, or you’re just tepid… you are in the same boat when it comes to your agenda. You just don’t know if he’s going to be with you or if at some point, he’s going to just do an about face and go his own way.”

“I disagree with Trump but I don’t blame him,” said Roth. “Congressional Republicans are so paralyzed with dysfunction that he got frustrated” and decided he could get further with the Democrats.

It doesn’t seem to matter that dancing with Democrats could move Trump to the center. Or that Trump may decide he likes working with a party that can deliver votes.

And not just on DACA. Trump flirted this week with the idea of ditching the grueling ritual congressional vote to raise the limit on government borrowing. (Congress already authorized the spending that drove up debt, so why put Congress through all the drama of voting to pay the bills?)

“That’s a crazy idea,” Roth said that would “set Trump’s voter base on fire.”

With Trump you never can tell. If he continues to barter with Democrats, Trump could become the bipartisan deal-maker who creates a bridge to the middle.

Said Corallo: “It may be that president Trump is realigning the way the White House operates in this town.”

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter.