We begin today’s roundup with an editorial from USA Today on the president’s unpresidential behavior:
The president says he can’t work with Congress on legislation and be investigated at the same time, then showed this to be true by walking out of a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.
We wonder what his next protestation will be. He can’t negotiate a budget while dealing with a foreign policy crisis? He can’t fight a trade war and cut taxes? He can’t "walk and chew gum" at the same time?
We wonder, too, how he will articulate his dilemma. Perhaps instead of walking out in a huff he will stomp his feet, or scream at the top of his lungs. Maybe he’ll throw his Legos castle against the wall so it breaks into 20 bazillion pieces. Boy, wouldn’t that be something.
The fact is, presidents are subject to investigations. Some are legit. Others transparently partisan. Nonetheless, presidents get things done.
Here’s David A. Graham’s analysis at The Atlantic:
So Trump is suggesting he won’t work with Democrats on anything until they drop their investigations. “It is not possible for them to investigate and legislate at the same time,” he tweeted. But being able to do both oversight and lawmaking is precisely how Congress is structured, and as veterans of any previous administration can attest, plenty can get done while Congress is investigating a White House. [...]
If Trump were to follow through on his threat to not do anything with Congress until House Democrats drop their investigations, things could get even dicier. Within the next few months, the debt ceiling will need to increase and the government will need to be funded. Democrats might have been tempted to hold those bills hostage, just as Republicans have done in the past—but now Trump has given them an opportunity to pass an increase and a spending bill and dare the president to call their bluff. A senior government official told CNBC that the debt ceiling and funding are not subject to Trump’s ultimatum, but the president has demonstrated again and again that only he can speak for himself. And if he doesn’t act, and the U.S. defaults or shuts down? It could be fodder for another article of impeachment.