Mediaboss Marketing

President-elect Donald Trump walks Labor Secretary-designate Andrew Puzder from Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J., in November 2016.

The collapse Wednesday of Andrew Puzders nomination as US secretary of labor might turn out to be a historical footnote or it might mark a welcome turning point in the new Trump administration. Hopefully, its a sign that the Republican Senate is waking up to its responsibility to act as a check on an administration thats shown nothing but incompetence as it staggers through its first month.

Puzder, a fast-food baron, withdrew from consideration after Republican senators made it clear to the White House that he lacked the votes needed for confirmation. Hes the first, and so far only, Trump nominee turned aside by the Senate. Previously, the Republican-controlled body had rubber-stamped even obviously unqualified nominees like Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

Advertisement

Is Puzder just that much worse than Trumps other picks? Or is the climate in Washington changing in just the days since the vote to confirm DeVos?

The Trump administration has careered from crisis to crisis, and on Monday night National Security Adviser Mike Flynn resigned over his conversations with the Russian ambassador. Trumps fellow Republicans are getting antsy. After trying to shield the new president from oversight, senators now seem to be leaning toward a more aggressive inquiry into the administrations Russian ties.

Get Arguable with Jeff Jacoby in your inbox:

Our conservative columnist offers a weekly take on everything from politics to pet peeves.

There were certainly good reasons for the Senates refusal to approve Puzder. The head of the company that owns Hardees and Carls Jr., Puzder had come under criticism for his business record as well as allegations of domestic violence once lodged against him by his former wife. He also acknowledged hiring an illegal immigrant as a housekeeper, the sort of infraction that has sunk cabinet nominations in the past.

While I wont be serving in the administration, I fully support the President and his highly qualified team, Puzder wrote.

In the minds of Republican senators, the argument for approving bad Trump nominees and looking the other way at his scandals boils down to party loyalty. Senator Rand Paul said as much, in an astonishingly candid comment Tuesday: I just dont think its useful to be doing investigation after investigation, particularly of your own party. ... Well never even get started with doing the things we need to do. Plus, given Trumps thin skin, theres no guarantee that he wont retaliate against his fellow Republicans in some fashion if they exercise their oversight responsibilities.

But the consequences of letting Trump rampage through Washington appear graver every day. His erratic foreign policy pronouncements on China, the Middle East, and Mexico have thrown international relations into turmoil. Conflicts of interest have crept into official White House communications. Congressmen have the power to mitigate the damage Trump is doing, but only if they use it. Hopefully, having drawn the line on Puzder will embolden them to do so more often.

Read more:
Are Senate Republicans finally waking up? - The Boston Globe