What happens when Republican senators have nothing left to lose? Not much.

For years, we have been told that Republican senators privately object to many of President Trump’s policies and appointments but do not resist because Republican voters would punish them at the ballot box. There are at least four senators who have little to fear from elections or Trump right now, yet remarkably little has changed. 

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is retiring in January. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) both lost primaries to Trump-backed opponents and will not run again. And Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) opted against seeking reelection after Trump threatened to support a primary challenger against him.

Often called the “Wounded Bear” or YOLO (“you only live once”) caucus, these lawmakers have nothing to lose. But despite a greater willingness to voice objections to Trump nominations and policies, they almost never vote “no” when it counts. 

Trump’s recent nomination of Todd Blanche to be attorney general illustrates the pattern.  

Cornyn and Tillis demanded a written commitment ending Trump’s proposed $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund as the price for their support. Neither focused much on the provisions granting Trump and his family immunity from IRS investigations. Widely denounced as a slush fund to reward Trump allies and supporters — including potentially rioters who attacked Capitol police on Jan. 6, 2021 — it was labeled by Cornyn as “politically tone-deaf” and a “payout pot for punks.” Tillis called it “stupid on stilts;” McConnell declared it “utterly stupid, morally wrong.” Cassidy accused Blanche of showing “poor judgment” in helping negotiate it, questioned his independence, and expressed concern about the Justice Department’s “bringing suits against political enemies.”   

Every Democrat, along with Republicans Susan Collins (Maine)........

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