Economist says just eight defections could strip Trump of his grip on Congress

Nobel Prize–winning economist Paul Krugman argues that Donald Trump’s hold on power is far more fragile than it appears, contending that just eight Republican defections in Congress could effectively neuter his agenda. Writing on Substack, Krugman said four House Republicans and four GOP senators caucusing with Democrats would be enough to flip control of Congress, unleash oversight, and halt many of Trump’s most extreme policies. The problem, he wrote, isn’t numbers but nerve, as many Republicans who are privately appalled by Trump continue to enable him out of fear or self-interest. Krugman warned that Trump’s power ultimately rests on these enablers — a mix of ideologues and opportunists — and that reclaiming democratic guardrails would require a small number of lawmakers willing to risk Trump’s wrath and act, in his words, like patriots.

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