Sen. Jeff Flake’s (R-AZ) time in the U.S. Senate is almost at an end. And it cannot come soon enough. The Arizona Republican has been a colossal thorn in his colleagues’ side for weeks. Flake is under the impression that he will be rewarded by what’s left of the Never Trump contingent of the GOP, as if these folks are enough to overtake the president in a possible primary challenge. Okay—maybe it’s for principle, or something. Are you really going to sabotage your party’s judicial agenda over it? Yes. Yes he did. Scores of judicial nominations were either blocked from advancement or prevented from having a floor vote because Flaky wants his protect Mueller bill to pass. The bill would protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is heading the DOJ’s Russia investigation, from being fired for political reasons.
It won’t pass. President Trump wouldn’t sign it either. It’s total garbage. It’s the sad swan song of a senator who couldn’t even run for another term because GOP voters in the state think he sucks; he’s deeply unpopular. So, how many times has Flake tried to get this onto the floor for a vote? Three times—and in all those times, it ended in total failure (via Washington Examiner):
Flake has been pushing for weeks to pass a bill that would keep Trump from firing Mueller before the end of his investigation into Russian election influence. That investigation has expanded to other areas and has led to several indictments.
Trump has opposed the investigation from the start, and his decision to fire former Attorney General Jeff Sessions led some to worry that Trump could fire Mueller next.
But Flake hasn't found sympathy for his bill among Senate Republican leaders. Twice in November, Republicans blocked his request to pass a bill that would only allow Mueller to be fired for good cause, and not for political reasons.
On Wednesday, Flake tried again by asking senators to agree unanimously to pass the same bill. But Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said quickly, "I object," which blocked the move.
Still, he’s caused damage. He’s the key 11thvote on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and he’s caused a lot of heartburn with fellow Senate Republicans. Leave, Jeff Flake—and don’t ever come back.
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