Durbin: We’re Hearing ‘Silence of the Lambs’ from GOP on Reports of Chaos Inside W.H.
Joining me now from the other side of the aisle is Democratic Whip, Dick Durbin, who sits on the Judiciary Committee. Senator Durbin, welcome to Meet The Press.
SEN. DICK DURBIN: Good to be with you.
CHUCK TODD: Let me start quickly on this issue of the op-ed and the president. What should Congress’ role be — if there is an unelected cabal of people thwarting the will of the people and trying to stop the president from doing things that he campaigned on doing, for instance in ending a trade agreement with South Korea? What is the role of the legislative branch in dealing with a troubling — potentially troubling situation like that?
SEN. DICK DURBIN: Well, of course there’s a formal role. Congress, under the Constitution has its own authority. But it is an authority that is exercised in the extreme: the 25th Amendment, the question of impeachment. But I think there’s a more important role for Congress to play and especially the President’s own party. This is a matter of great seriousness and gravity. We should not be dismissing it. It isn’t like his blizzard of bizarre tweets. We are talking about consistent reporting over and over again about unpredictable, unprepared, unstable behavior by this president. In a matter of great national security and defense can we trust this president to make the proper decision, to make a thoughtful decision—
CHUCK TODD: Yeah.
SEN. DICK DURBIN: These are things that I think should be addressed by his own party. But instead we hear the silence of the lambs.
CHUCK TODD: What—
SEN. DICK DURBIN: Basically quiet. Have nothing to say when it comes to these events, except for a few, Bob Corker’s one of them, who’s stepped up and said a few things.
CHUCK TODD: What concerns you more, that there’s an unelected cabal or the reports that come out from these anonymous sources. I mean, doesn’t the President deserve to have a staff that doesn’t, not just disparage him this way at times, but stops him from actually doing the job that he believes he was elected to do?
SEN. DICK DURBIN: Well, of course. But you have to ask yourself, “What kind of circumstances in the White House would even give rise to this possibility?” Under President Obama, eight years without an indictment, eight years without a major scandal. You know, they had their problems. Every presidency does. But nothing that went to the heart of the question about whether we have a dysfunctional White House. And if we do, it’s inescapable that the President bears responsibility. He’s the one who gathered this team. He’s the one who tries to keep them together, and yet there is genuine fear, obviously, among some of them that his behavior is going to result in some terrible things for America.
