If the Republican party was fractured by their failure to pass Trumpcare, it may be broken now.
Trump unexpectedly declared war on the Freedom Caucus this morning, lumping them in with Democrats who need to be defeated.
The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don't get on the team, & fast. We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2017
To their credit, members of the Freedom Caucus actually have the guts to push back.
It didn't take long for the swamp to drain @realDonaldTrump. No shame, Mr. President. Almost everyone succumbs to the D.C. Establishment. https://t.co/9bDo8yzH7I
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) March 30, 2017
@realDonaldTrump it's a swamp not a hot tub. We both came here to drain it. SwampCare polls 17%. sad https://t.co/4kjygV2tdS
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 30, 2017
The Freedom Caucus has over 40 members and Speaker Ryan can only afford to lose 21 of them if he wants to pass bills.
Now, Trump has floated the laughable idea of working with Democrats and Democratic votes would allow Ryan and Trump to ignore the Freedom Caucus, but Speaker Ryan says he's not interested in working with Democrats on healthcare or anything else.
"I don't want that to happen," Ryan said, referring to Trump's offer to work with Democrats.
Carrying out those reforms with Democrats is "hardly a conservative thing," Ryan said, according to interview excerpts released on Wednesday. "I don’t want government running health care. The government shouldn’t tell you what you must do with your life, with your healthcare," he said.
There's more.
The Tuesday Group, a group of 50 moderate Republicans, has decided they're not interesting in working with the Freedom Caucus.
Rep Chris Collins says Tuesday Group met last night agreed they won't meet or work w Freedom Caucus. "If that call comes in just hang up"
— Daniel Newhauser (@dnewhauser) March 30, 2017
Trump doesn't want to work with the Freedom Caucus. The Tuesday Group doesn't want to work with the Freedom Caucus. Ryan doesn't want to work with Democrats.
Do the math and you quickly realize the GOP doesn't have a governing coalition. That is not to say they won't be able to pass small measures from time to time, such as the bill to allow ISP to sell your browsing history, but their ability to pass big ticket items like healthcare or tax reform may be severely limited.
It's going to be deliciously awkward when Ryan is forced to ask Nancy Pelosi for help to avoid a government shutdown.
We have come a long way in our country when the speaker of one party urges a president NOT to work with the other party to solve a problem.
— Senator Bob Corker (@SenBobCorker) March 30, 2017