A public servant is a servant of whom?
In the case of Missouri’s two U.S. senators, that remains unclear. It appears as if they would rather play political games than do the jobs that they were elected to do. But in this current hyper-polarized political environment, it is not likely to matter.
The day after former President Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide an alleged extramarital affair from the 2016 voters, 10 Republican senators signed a public letter to the White House vowing to prevent the upper chamber from doing their jobs. Led by Utah’s Sen. Mike Lee, they included Missouri Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt. Several other Republican senators have since signed on.
“The White House has made a mockery of the rule of law and fundamentally altered our politics in un-American ways,” alleges the letter. “As a Senate Republican conference, we are unwilling to aid and abet this White House in its project to tear this country apart.”
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It went on to say that the senators will not allow any increase to non-security related funding for “this administration,” or any appropriations bill which “funds partisan lawfare.”
They also vowed that they would not vote to confirm “this administration’s” political and judicial appointees or allow expedited consideration and passage of Democratic legislation or authorities that are not directly relevant to the safety of the American people.
The letter the Republican senators signed signals that they are unwilling to do the federal jobs they were elected to do in order to carry water for their partisan tribal leader. The letter does not indicate how long they plan on relinquishing their duties.
The composition and powers of the Senate are established by Article One of the United States Constitution. Senators’ duties include proposing legislation, drafting or amending bills, oversight of the federal budget, government oversight, approving or rejecting presidential appointees, approving foreign treaties and trying the president during the impeachment process.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates, responding to the letter, told Fox News Digital in a statement: “President Biden knows the American people rightly expect their leaders in Washington to put the needs of constituents above partisanship, and to protect the rule of law — not to sabotage government or undercut law enforcement based on extreme, debunked conspiracy theories.”
On top of abdicating their duties as U.S. senators, Hawley and Schmitt have also been attacking the rule of law in a demonstration of support for the leader of the GOP.
Both Hawley and Schmitt are attorneys and swore the following within 90 days after the date of their letters of licensure in Missouri:
“I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Missouri; That I will maintain the respect due courts of justice, judicial officers and members of my profession and will at all times conduct myself with dignity becoming of an officer of the court in which I appear; That I will never seek to mislead the judge or jury by any artifice or false statement of fact or law; That I will at all times conduct myself in accordance with the Rules of Professional Conduct; and, That I will practice law to the best of my knowledge and ability and with consideration for the defenseless and oppressed. So help me God.”
Trump was found guilty of a crime that he committed as an ordinary citizen by a jury of his peers, the same jury that Trump’s lawyers agreed to.
If either one of Missouri’s senators would respond to me, I would ask them, on the record: After hearing the evidence presented to the jury, is there doubt in your mind that Trump is guilty of the crimes charged? How is the verdict political persecution when he was found guilty of the crimes he was charged with?
In 2023, a jury found Trump civilly liable for the sexual assault of E. Jean Carroll. Later in 2023, a federal judge ruled that Trump defamed Carroll. Earlier this year a jury ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million over those defamatory remarks.
Do Hawley and Schmitt think those cases are also a “sham” and “mockery of the criminal justice system,” as Hawley posted on X? Do they think Trump is not guilty of those allegations as well?
The senators’ words and actions following the verdict have been far from respectful of the courts of justice and its judicial officers.
Unfortunately most of us live in a stew of hyper-partisanship and our political incentives are so distorted that Hawley and Schmitt are not likely to be punished for their behavior. Rather, they are more likely to be rewarded for it.
We should be asking ourselves: Do we want our elected officials to act as mere political actors, serving themselves and their party’s leader, or are we electing them to be deliberate members of Congress and work for their constituents? Sadly, I think we all know how that question will be answered.
Schmidt is a Post-Dispatch columnist and Editorial Board member. SchmidtOpinions@
gmail.com. On X/Twitter:
@SchmidtOpinions.