One might like to say outgoing Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) was in rare, or unusual form in the Senate today; unfortunately, his anti-Trump’s tirades are increasingly the norm for the diminutive senator, as opposed to the exception, as CNN reports.
Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker accused his party of cowering before President Donald Trump in an impassioned speech on the Senate floor Tuesday.
In an animated exchange, Corker — who was trying to get a vote on an amendment as part of an ongoing debate over the Senate’s defense bill — argued that Republicans were blocking his trade proposal because they were afraid of Trump and what he might do to the party if they upset him in an election year.
“We might poke the bear!” said Corker, who is retiring at the end of his term. “My gosh, if the President gets upset with us we might not be in the majority,” he said referring to sentiments he often hears from colleagues.
Corker has worked for the last week to try to get a vote on his amendment that would roll back Trump’s trade authority and give Congress the power to check the President’s ability to impose tariffs on national security grounds, like the steel and aluminum ones he announced earlier this month on US allies.
They say sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you–a bear in the form of President Donald Trump appears to have eaten Corker’s cerebral cortex at this point. He shows no signs of letting up on his unproductive, if not counter-productive, tactics to stymie Trump as the president attempts to negotiate better trade deals on behalf of the American workers whop elected him.
Corker’s performance continued on for quite some time:
“The United States Senate right now on June 12 is becoming a body where, well, we’ll do what we can do, but my gosh, if the President gets upset with us, then we might not be in the majority. And so let’s don’t do anything that might upset the President.”
Corker said he will try to find another bill to add his tariffs language.“I’m not giving the fight up,” he told reporters after his amendment was blocked on the floor. “I think it’s ridiculous people can’t vote on amendments. Childish! Childish!”
On Tuesday, Corker called out Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, saying that the Texas Republican didn’t want to vote on his tariff bill because “we might upset” Trump before the midterms.
“I can’t believe it,” Corker fumed at the time.
Last week, Cornyn told reporters: “I support his (amendment) getting a vote, but I don’t think this is a time to pick a fight with the President in the run up to a midterm election.”
But then, why would Corker be concerned with the critical mid-term elections?
With low poll ratings, he decided not to run again for re-election in November, and he appears to have little interest in supporting any Republican Senate or House candidates who are supporting President Trump’s agenda.
