Spineless Republicans defend Trump’s ballroom debacle

Cowards in Congress is a weekly series highlighting Donald Trump’s worst defenders on Capitol Hill, who refuse to criticize him, no matter how shameful or lawless his actions may be.

This week, congressional Republicans went out of their way to defend President Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to raze the entire East Wing of the White House to make room for his a horribly garish $300 million ballroom.

Republicans mocked Democrats, outraged by Trump’s decision to demolish an entire segment of the White House build a ballroom financed by corruption by donors who have business before the federal government.

“He invested some of his own money,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA). said of the project, although we have no idea how much Trump – who is notoriously tough on his contractors – actually gave to the project. “You would think, ‘Well, geez, at least they could agree to this, it’s not even taxpayer money, it’s going to be a permanent renovation that will make the White House better for all future presidents.’

Unfortunately for Scalise, Americans disagree with that assessment, with only 23 percent of adults saying they think the ballroom will have a positive impact on the White House. according to to a YouGov survey.

But Scalise continued his whiny tirade.

“They say no to everything he does,” Scalise said. “Because they’re just angry about the results of last year’s election.”

Yes, we are angry. But that’s because every day Trump does something like this extremely corrupt And illegal that this leads this country towards the territory of a banana republic.

“Presidents have regularly renovated and expanded the White House over the past century. The left’s faux outrage is a deflection of Schumer’s shutdown,” said Trump Rep. Andy Biggs. wrote in an article on X. “Leftists are seriously affected by Trump derangement syndrome,” said the Arizona Republican.

Of course, these projects had congressional approval, input from historic preservation boards, and were not funded by a corrupt pay-to-play system. But okay.

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Sen. Mike Lee of Utah also mocked Democrats’ outrage.

“I’m shaking right now. Humanity!” he wrote in a sarcastic article on X featuring images of past White House renovations.

And in his haste to defend Trump, Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee wrote a silly post on @realDonaldTrump the administration to destroy the @MaisonBlanche. Oh wait, that was during the construction of the basketball court during the Obama administration. #nevermind“

Of course, the photo Burchett posted was NOT from the “construction” of Obama’s basketball court – which in reality wasn’t construction at all, but rather a conversion of an existing tennis court so he could shoot a few baskets while Republicans painted him as the Antichrist because his skin wasn’t white.

Burchett finally deleted the message and put in the exact time the photo took placeit was during the Truman administration. But that still doesn’t answer the point he thinks he’s making, since Truman had to renovate the White House because it wasn’t structurally sound. And he did it in collaboration with historic preservation boards that worked to reuse existing decorative elements in the new building, and with Congressional approval and funding.

According to at the Truman Presidential Library, “The Truman renovation retained the original walls, third floor, and roof, while removing, then reinstalling, the interiors in a skeleton of structural steel beams on a new concrete foundation.”

Meanwhile, Trump brought an actual excavator to the structure — and now it is. prevent the press from seeing the destruction as it unfolds.

Only one Republican had the good sense to say that, in reality, razing much of the White House to build a gilded ballroom in the middle of a shutdown while many federal employees are not getting paid is not a good idea.

“We are in the middle of a shutdown,” said North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis. said. “There are a few other things we should probably focus on before a construction project.”

Of course, Tillis is outgoingso he no longer has to lick Trump’s boots like his Republican Party colleagues, who fear that speaking out against Dear Leader will cost them their seats in Congress – or worse.

Because, tell me now: they are all cowards.