MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Let's dig into this a little bit more with Doug Heye. He's a political strategist and former communications director for the Republican National Committee. Good morning, Doug.
DOUG HEYE: Good morning.
MARTIN: So among the senators who did vote for this amendment to block what the administration calls the anti-weaponization fund are Senators Thom Tillis and Bill Cassidy. They're part of a group that's become known as the YOLO Caucus, meaning you only live once. Now, of course, Cassidy lost his reelection bid, and Tillis has said he's not seeking a third term. But ultimately, they did vote for the final bill, which included the fund. How do you read the outcome? Did they lose their nerve when it came time for the big vote? What do you think?
HEYE: Well, you know, I'm reminded that Frank Sinatra sang a song that said, I've heard that song before. And for 10 years now, we've been looking at not just the forest through the trees, but every individual leaf, every individual vote, and saying, what does it say about Donald Trump's hold on the Republican Party? And the reality is, every time for 10 years now, there's been some sort of vote like this, Republicans have supported the president. And typically, members of a party support their incumbent president. And with Donald Trump using every bit of leverage that he has, it shouldn't be any surprise that these votes continue to either pass in Trump's favor or fail in Trump's favor.
MARTIN: So the two senators we mentioned, the president has largely managed to force these lawmakers out of their seats in primaries. But there are other senators in competitive races this fall, like Susan Collins, Dan Sullivan. They also voted for the amendment - that didn't pass - but did vote for the final bill. So is this a situation where you vote for something knowing it's not going to have any effect on the final outcome just so you can say you did, or why even bother?
HEYE: Yeah, that's one of the things we used to call - when I worked in House leadership - releasing your votes. When you have enough votes to pass - Obamacare in 2010 was a perfect example of this. It barely passed the House, so that once Nancy Pelosi had the votes necessary to pass it, those members who needed to vote no for their own political purposes, you release those votes. Go ahead. Do whatever you need to do for your political purposes or back in your district because we have the votes necessary to do what we want to do. It's exactly what happened this week and it has happened time and time again.
MARTIN: It's - you know, it's one thing, though, to help loyalists win primaries to secure a spot - or secure a spot in general or for the runoff. But then some of these people have to go off and win over broader voting populations in November's midterms. And I just wonder if the administration is giving any thought to that in the way it is addressing these issues going forward. I mean, because the president, as we all have known, has become very unforgiving about people who have thwarted his agenda or he perceives as thwarting his agenda or not being sufficiently loyal. But going forward, I'm just wondering if the calculation changes for them at all.
HEYE: I don't think the calculation changes today between any point between in this second Trump administration or the first Trump administration. And remember, Donald Trump wields power differently and more than any president we've seen in the past. He's a Sword of Damocles for Republicans because they know that at any moment, they could be asleep and Trump has tweeted at 2:30 in the morning that pick your Republican member of Congress or senator is a loser or is disloyal or whatever it may be, and that means that they have a very real problem in a general election, because if five or 10% of the MAGA base says they're not going to support pick your candidate in November, they have a very real problem that isn't about independent voters or those voters who voted for Biden in 2020 and Trump in 2024. If a part of the base decides they're not going to show up because Trump has threatened that member of Congress or that senator, they have a very real political problem.
MARTIN: So you may consider this redundant, but I'm going to ask it anyway. The House passed a War Powers Resolution attempting to restrain President Trump on Iran. And then last night, some House Republicans defied the leadership and voted with Democrats in favor of billions more in military aid to Ukraine and more sanctions on Russia. Your takeaway is?
HEYE: Four Republicans in the House voted on the war powers - voted for the War Powers resolution. That's 1.8% of the House Republican Conference. That's not a big number.
MARTIN: OK. That is a former Republican National Committee communications director Doug Heye. Doug, thank you.
HEYE: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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