Yes, but when he has done both before, it has always been in line with what the majority party wants, even if it is illegal. For instance, ever since Grover Nordquist stated out loud that he wanted to “make government so small you could drown it in rhe bathtub”, Conservatives fantasized about just firing them all, but all those pesky laws got in the way. Their solution was to elect someone who didn’t give a damn about what was legal, and then let him do all the dirty DOGE work without actually having to vote on it. The Republican majority is simply letting him do all the illegal shit, in the hopes that it deflects any future blame from themselves.
But this is different. This is Congress specifically voting for the President to do something, and the President agreeing to do it, then saying “Sike!” And not doing it. If allowed to stand, it makes Congress irrelevant. The Senate, in particular, takes their job seriously. If an impeachment resolution makes it there over this key point, voting against it is basically voting to dissolve their own power.
In particular, if Democrats do very well in the midterms, you may find Trump chickening out of this one, too. Because would the Senate still impeach if the President backs off on the infringing behavior? Even a month or two of lifting sanctions might give Russia enough cash to make a difference, after all.
Yes, but when he has done both before, it has always been in line with what the majority party wants, even if it is illegal. For instance, ever since Grover Nordquist stated out loud that he wanted to “make government so small you could drown it in rhe bathtub”, Conservatives fantasized about just firing them all, but all those pesky laws got in the way. Their solution was to elect someone who didn’t give a damn about what was legal, and then let him do all the dirty DOGE work without actually having to vote on it. The Republican majority is simply letting him do all the illegal shit, in the hopes that it deflects any future blame from themselves.
But this is different. This is Congress specifically voting for the President to do something, and the President agreeing to do it, then saying “Sike!” And not doing it. If allowed to stand, it makes Congress irrelevant. The Senate, in particular, takes their job seriously. If an impeachment resolution makes it there over this key point, voting against it is basically voting to dissolve their own power.
In particular, if Democrats do very well in the midterms, you may find Trump chickening out of this one, too. Because would the Senate still impeach if the President backs off on the infringing behavior? Even a month or two of lifting sanctions might give Russia enough cash to make a difference, after all.