OPINION: Idaho’s senators won’t fuss over Donald Trump nominations

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson had the perfect reaction when he was told that the embattled Florida congressman, Matt Gaetz, had been picked as the nominee for attorney general.

“Are you s---tin’ me?”

Simpson’s loose comment was an “instant classic” for sure, but he was not the only one expressing concern over President-elect Donald Trump’s selection. Gaetz ended up withdrawing his name after it became apparent that Senate confirmation wasn’t going to happen.

While Simpson’s comment was aimed at Gaetz, the same reaction could have been given for other nominations that were somewhere between “laughable” and “totally bonkers” — Kash Patel (FBI), Pete Hegseth (Defense), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Health and Human Services), Linda McMahon (Education) and Tulsi Gabbard (National Intelligence). And this is just a short list of his controversial picks.

But don’t look for more “instant classics” from Idaho’s senior House member. Trump has been known to keep track of these things and doesn’t hesitate to retaliate. Simpson has spent almost a decade backing away from his 2016 comment about Trump being unfit for the presidency.

There may be at least a few creative ways that a president can “get back” at a sitting member of Congress. The immediate weapon is that mega-billionaire Elon Musk will invest part of his fortune for getting wayward Republicans defeated in a primary. Fortunately for Simpson, his political career is safe regardless of what Trump thinks or how much money any rich guy wants to spend. As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, Simpson has managed to cover about every square inch of Idaho’s 2nd District with federal money — making him practically unbeatable in any election.

Simpson is the one member of Idaho’s congressional delegation who could afford to speak up if, or when, Trump goes off the rails in his second term. But Simpson hasn’t gotten to his lofty position by being a loose cannon. He’s always been a “team player” for the House Republican leadership, and right now the “team” is all for Donald Trump. And with Trump carrying Idaho by staggering numbers, there’s no way that Simpson will go against his constituents.

On the Senate side, there’s no danger of Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch bucking the party line — and for good reason. Much of Trump’s economic agenda will be going through the Senate Finance Committee (chaired by Crapo) and sensitive foreign policy issues will be debated in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (chaired by Risch).

So, the two Idaho senators have no interest in grandstanding over Trump’s Cabinet nominations or scoring cheap political victories in the early stages of the president’s second term. Risch, especially, has Trump’s ear on foreign policy and Crapo could become a key figure for the new administration on tax and economic policies. The senators would vote for Trump’s selections if they included Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.

When Trump takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, he will have a firm grip (if not total control) over all three branches of government — executive, legislative and judicial. He’ll have his loyalists on the executive end, the Republican Congress in his pocket and a judicial system that will abide by his every wish. It will be as close to a dictatorship as anything I’ve seen since the Lyndon Johnson and the “Great Society” years, which in 1965 were a dictatorship in the making but collapsed in the end because of the Vietnam War.

Time will tell where Trump’s power carries him, or what he thinks his election mandate means. His early nominations suggest that he’s out for revenge against those who oppose him — which serves notice to Democrats who impeached him, disobedient Republicans and even the media. During the next four years, I imagine that Trump’s world will portray Jan. 6 as a moment of patriotic honor, instead of the ugly historical scar that it was.

But our congressional delegation says everything will be fine. The borders will be under control, the nation’s economy will be booming, the United States will have respect globally and America will be great again — just as Trump has promised.

I sure hope our congressional representatives are correct. God help us if they’re not.

Malloy is a veteran Idaho columnist. He may be contacted at ctmalloy@outlook.com.