Former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) had a warning for Republicans on Tuesday, suggesting that the Department of Justice's $1.8 billion fund that could give Trump supporters compensation will create a serious backlash for the GOP in midterm elections.
Flake told CNN anchor Brianna Keilar on Tuesday that he expects to see Republicans flee Congress as a result of the decision and expected that more conservative lawmakers would need to take a firm stance on the Trump DOJ's announcement.
"If I were a Republican, I would run so far and so fast away from this and condemn it, because it's going to come back to haunt Republicans and this White House and anybody who's associated with it," Flake said. "The way the president has already directed the Department of Justice to go after his political enemies. And now we'll use this to reward his political friends. This is something that if you're a Republican, you don't want to be anywhere near."
With midterms months away, and President Donald Trump pushing for revenge against Republicans who have challenged him and targeting primary races in battleground states, Flake suggested it could cost GOP lawmakers in the long-term.
"After this election, I mean, the president will be a lame duck," Flake said. "There's already going to be after the filing deadlines are done, after the primaries are complete and certainly after the midterms, you'll see a great migration of Republicans away from some of the president's policies, certainly on tariffs and on the war and some other things that they want to distance themselves from. But if there's something like this that that just smacks of corruption — directing money toward your political allies. That's something that Republicans not just for this election, but for future elections, and just because it's not a good thing, to stand up, for the republic. I mean, they're going to want to distance themselves from this. This is a bad deal."
