Republicans are secretly dreading a second Donald Trump presidency almost as much as Democrats.
The twice-impeached former president has been the clear GOP frontrunner for months and has led President Joe Biden in some recent polls, and Republican lawmakers are bracing for a potential leadership shakeup if Trump wins another term, reported Politico.
“One thing I’m pretty certain of is that the leadership is all up in the air," said Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), "and I don’t think any of them survive after this term."
Trump's recent threats to the Affordable Care Act reminded congressional Republicans of the chaos that he injects into the daily news cycle, which requires them to walk a fine line between disavowing his remarks without drawing his ire.
“He is almost a stream of consciousness,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), one of only three Senate Republicans who will remain in office after voting to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial. "[It's] analogous to when every day he would tweet, and 99 percent of the time it never came to anything.”
Most of the 17 Republicans in both chambers who sided against Trump in that second impeachment saga will be gone from Congress by the end of 2024, and those who remain are resigned to the fact that he and Biden will likely face off against one another in a 2020 rematch.
“I’m under no illusions what that would be like,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who voted to acquit Trump. “If it’s Biden and Trump, I’m gonna be supporting Trump. But that’s obviously not without its challenges.”
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) disclosed that many Republicans privately dread Trump's return, especially since he's made his private grievances the centerpiece of his third campaign.
“I wouldn’t expect him to be different,” Simpson said. "Four years of revenge … we just have to wait and see.”
