Dem
47
GOP
53
It has been slow coming, but a few Republican senators are starting to give Donald Trump some pushback. One issue that is peeling them off is the war in Ukraine. Trump has (falsely) claimed that Ukraine started the war and that Russia is a victim of Ukrainian aggression. Republican senators aren't buying it. After the U.S. voted with Russia, Belarus, and North Korea against a resolution in the U.N. blaming Russia for the war, some previously cowardly Republican senators began speaking out. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) called it "shameful." That is one notch above being "concerned." Outgoing Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stuck his neck out of his shell and said refusing to blame Russia "as the undeniable and unprovoked aggressor reflects a gross misunderstanding of the nature of negotiations and leverage." New Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) said he was "deeply troubled" by the U.S.' vote on the resolution. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) talked about Russia's "unprovoked war on Ukraine." Sen Thom Tillis (R-NC) said: "Putin is a murderer who's ordered the systematic capture, kidnapping, rape and torture of countless numbers of Ukrainians." Sen. Bill Cassidy said "Russia's clearly the aggressor." All this criticism is something we haven't seen before. Trump may finally have gone too far.
In addition, Murkowski also spoke up about what Trump, Elon Musk, and others in the administration are doing on the domestic front. She said: "It requires speaking out. It requires saying, 'That violates the law. That violates the authorities of the executive.'" In a town hall, she called out Trump repeatedly for violating the law and saying that his actions (such as impounding funds) "cannot be allowed to stand." Other Republicans aren't clamoring to follow her just yet, but it might just be a matter of time for them to find their spines. (V)