Congress is in session, but a slew of GOP politicians are snubbing their legislative duties to show up at Donald Trump's ongoing hush money trial in New York.
Whether auditioning to be his running mate pick or simply currying favor with the Republican presidential nominee and his supporters, the attendant Republicans have all followed a similar pattern of sitting behind Trump during the trial, wishing him good luck, and railing against the prosecution, judge, witnesses, and jurors to the press and anyone else who will listen.
According to CNN's Kate Sullivan, the latest group of Republicans to accompany Trump to court on Thursday includes Reps. Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert and nine of their colleagues. Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department lawyer involved in Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, also made an appearance.
Gaetz proudly announced his loyalty to the president in a post on X, saying that he was "standing back and standing by," a reference to Trump's comment in a 2020 debate that was interpreted by the white supremacist Proud Boys as a call to remain vigilant and even engage in violence on his behalf.
But the continual stream of absences is causing headaches in Congress, where Republicans hold a narrow 217-213 majority in the House. Four absences are enough to erase that tiny margin and sink any legislation brought forward, potentially to the benefit of the Democratic minority.
The difficulty was laid bare later on Thursday, when a House Oversight Committee vote to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt was delayed to 8 p.m. in order to accommodate the New York field trip. On the House floor, a GOP bill to rebuke Biden for pausing an arms shipment to Israel may be defeated if Democrats stay united in opposition.
To Trump, this is Congress' problem, not his. The presence of loyal "surrogates," as he termed them, allows the former president to avoid threatening jurors, court staff, and witnesses himself, as these MAGA loyalists are not themselves subject to a gag order. Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who paid homage earlier this week, admitted to Newsmax that the reason why he and other GOP politicians went to New York was so they could "represent" Trump and "overcome this gag order."
