The old-school Republicans are except for a handful of them are probably are a little disgusted by all of this
a little?
shiiit - they are fucking pissed or they are going to be!
Here’s how Trump’s Comey firing could create major problems for Congressional Republicans
At the White House press briefing on Tuesday, spokesman Sean Spicer said the Trump administration did not want to “re-litigate the past” about the administration's relationship with Moscow, specifically, conversations former national security adviser Michael Flynn had with Russian officials last year. But just hours later, President Donald Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey, who was heading up an investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, guaranteeing the past will continue to dominate American politics. For Republicans in Congress, that’s a distraction they can ill afford as they hope to jumpstart their legislative agenda.
It’s been just a few days since House Republicans narrowly passed a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, notching their first legislative victory of the Trump era. But if GOP lawmakers were hoping that vote would build momentum after a sluggish start to 2017 on Capitol Hill, the latest firestorm over Comey and the investigation into the Trump campaign’s Russia ties is a major blow. It certainly won’t help that Trump is scheduled to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the White House on Wednesday.
Instead of continuing to hash out their version of a new healthcare bill, Senate Republicans now have to repel the inevitable onslaught of questions about Comey, whether or not he should have been fired, and what this means for the FBI’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
The Department of Justice claimed Tuesday night that Comey’s botched handling of the bureau's investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server prompted his dismissal. But the timing—why now?—and the fact that Comey is also overseeing the FBI’s probe on Trump and Russia immediately had Democrats—and even some Republicans—alarmed. “We know the FBI has been looking into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians—a very serious offense,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in an impromptu press conference. “Were those investigations getting too close to home for the president?”
Virtually every Democrat reiterated their call for a special prosecutor to lead an independent investigation into the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia last year. Republicans will now, once again, be forced to weigh in on whether they support such a probe. And the fact that a new Trump-appointed FBI director will now be leading the bureau’s investigation into the matter will make it harder for them to maintain their largely united front against naming a special prosecutor.
Meanwhile, the confirmation hearing and vote for the new FBI director will be a media circus, one that will distract Republicans and leave them with less time to pass their healthcare overhaul and rewrite the tax code. Lawmakers only have a few months left this year to move forward with several ambitious pieces of legislation, given their lengthy summer break in August and part of September, plus regular recesses and holidays. One controversial issue or nomination can clog up the Senate floor for days if not weeks, and Democrats have already shown they are willing to use procedural delays to slow the GOP agenda. More time spent debating a new FBI nominee and the possibility of an independent probe means less time for what GOP lawmakers have promised their constituents they’d accomplish, from jobs to healthcare.
And the closer we get to the 2018 election year, the more the legislative wheels will grind to a halt. That’s why there’s so much urgency to pass new laws this spring and summer, and prove Republicans can govern, before they shift into full-time campaign mode. It’s bad news for Republicans up for re-election next year if they can’t demonstrate any tangible wins, despite their unified party control of Washington. Meanwhile, the drip, drip, drip of Russia-related allegations, which Comey’s firing just dramatically amplified, will only continue to inflame Democratic voters eager to send a message in 2018.