Nick Ayers, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, is sick and tired of Republican congressional leaders who are actively working against President Donald Trump, and he suggested to a group of wealthy GOP donors at an RNC event this week that they must cut off their funds and “purge the handful of people who continue to work to defeat” Trump.
Pence’s chief of staff floats a “purge” of anti-Trump Republicans to wealthy donors, in audio obtained by POLITICO https://t.co/Pzfum90WRq pic.twitter.com/EkZMzM8Zma
— POLITICO (@politico) October 4, 2017
“I’m not speaking on behalf of the president or vice president when I say this,” Ayers said. “But if I were you, I would not only stop donating, I would form a coalition of all the other major donors, and just say two things. We’re definitely not giving to you, No. 1. And No. 2, if you don’t have this done by Dec. 31, we’re going out, we’re recruiting opponents, we’re maxing out to their campaigns, and we’re funding super PACs to defeat all of you.”
Congressional Republicans have stalled in advancing many of their proposed policy agendas, most notably tax reform – and that has Ayers worried they could face “a gigantic loss” in 2018. “Here’s my skepticism,” he said. “[The GOP] had already passed health care bills to repeal and replace Obamacare in both chambers multiple times and couldn’t get that done. So, while there is a great framework in place, that will continue to grow the booming economy thanks to the president’s policies, I would ask them that question.”
Republicans will have to defend just eight seats in the Senate compared to the Democrats’ 23. While that may seem like a GOP advantage, however, Ayers contended that the GOP’s ability to advance policy “will determine about 75 percent of whether or not we succeed in the midterms, miss a big opportunity in the midterms or get destroyed in the midterms.”
He’s not wrong. Americans don’t want politicians in office who can’t accomplish what they were voted into office to accomplish. Americans voted for the repeal and replacement of Obamacare, tax reform, and a renewed focus on the working class. If the GOP can’t deliver on those campaign promises, voters will have little reason to back them in 2018.
Furthermore, if Republicans remain divided heading into election season, they will be easy targets for the opposition.
At the meeting, Ayers made it clear that he wasn’t “being passive-aggressive against [Senate Majority] Leader [Mitch] McConnell.” However, he stressed that Republican leaders “have to have the same aggression and effort and focus” they had in getting Judge Neil Gorsuch confirmed to execute the rest of their agenda.
It’s time Republicans took the reins and deliver on their promises.
Do you agree with Nick Ayers’s assessment that we need to “purge” Congress of anti-Trump Republicans? Share your thoughts and comments below!
