Showdown at the Ballroom Corral

Semafor and Punchbowl both published articles today reporting that the Senate is poised to take on President Trump on both his ballroom and his Deserving Fascists Slush Fund (DFSF). They want to cut ballroom funding and at least significantly restrict DFSF. You can see the details here. As the authors point out, there is a standard pattern in which senators willing to speak freely are those whose severed heads are already on the stake: Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), perhaps John Cornyn (R-TX) in the near future. But the silent ones, according to this information, will vote the same way. Or at least, in sufficient numbers.

Now one way to look at it is well, they never stand up to him! This will never happen. But in this case, well… great? Nobody does anything here on principle. They’re trying to keep their vulnerable members from having to run ads about how they voted for Trump’s Fortress Ballroom and his cash bonus plan for guys who bludgeoned cops with flag polls. You may think “nothing matters.” But it’s important, and they know it. So if Trump forces the Senate to vote for these things, that would be bad on the merits, but politically the joke is on the senators who have to run on that basis.