Senate Republicans are not remaining on the sidelines when it comes to Thursday’s “guilty” verdict for former and potentially future President Donald Trump. In addition to the slew of statements and social media posts many of them made, 10 senators have signed onto a letter making clear that they will not go along with cooperating with Democrats when it comes to areas such as funding, confirming nominees, and most legislation.
As the brief and direct letter reads:
The White House has made a mockery of the rule of law and fundamentally altered our politics in un-American ways. As a Senate Republican conference, we are unwilling to aid and abet this White House in its project to tear this country apart. To that end, we will not 1) allow any increase to non-security related funding for this administration, or any appropriations bill which funds partisan lawfare; 2) vote to confirm this administration’s political and judicial appointees; and 3) allow expedited consideration and passage of Democrat legislation or authorities that are not directly related to the safety of the American people.
The letter was shared by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT). “Strongly worded statements are not enough,” he fittingly noted in an X post from his official account. “Those who turned our judicial system into a political cudgel must be held accountable.” The post also “invite[d] all concerned Senators to join our stand.”
Other signatories included Sens. JD Vance (R-OH), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Rick Scott (R-FL) Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Marco Rubio (R-FL).
Lee also subsequently posted on Friday night that Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) had signed onto the letter.
“Democrats don’t get to wreck our judicial system and expect any cooperation on their legislative priorities,” this post also reminded.
In addition to reposting the letter that they had signed onto, these 10 senators have posted to their X accounts at great length decrying the verdict and what the weaponization and politicization of the justice system means for not just the 2024 election, but for America overall now. Rubio, who is Cuban, has called to mind the chilling nature of what our country is dealing with by harkening back to warnings from the island nation ruled by dictators, from op-eds to multiple posts shared to his X account.
Statements from President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, as well as the Biden White House, and then remarks from the president himself have reinforced the chilling nature of the weaponization and politicization of the justice system. Not only did Biden not take any questions after Friday’s brief remarks about the verdict, he paused to smile brightly when asked about Trump being a “political prisoner” before he continued walking away from the press.
Chillingly, Biden even lashed out against those daring to take issue with this particularly problematic process.
“It’s reckless, it’s dangerous, and it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict,” he warned. “Our justice system has endured for nearly 250 years, and it literally is the cornerstone of America — our justice system. The justice system should be respected, and we should never allow anyone to tear it down. It’s as simple as that,” Biden insisted, despite how it’s those bringing forth such a case against Trump who don’t respect the system.
In addition to the president being all smiles about the verdict, the Biden administration plays a role in that one of the prosecutors involved in the case brought by DA Alvin Bragg was Matthew Colangelo, who had been number three at the Biden Department of Justice before he joined Bragg’s office in December 2022.
There are 49 Republican senators total, which means there are 39 to go to sign onto this letter. Especially given that West Virginia’s Joe Manchin is now an Independent as of Friday, maybe he’ll even sign onto it.
In sharing the letter from his @BasedMikeLee account, the senator also reminded that it is “a call for unity” and “a time for choosing.” As Lee fittingly asked, “Will we let the Republic fall or are we going to do something about it?”
