Down but not out: How America can rebuild after Trump 

There’s good news and bad news as we approach the midterm elections.  

The good news is that Democrats have a realistic opportunity to win control of at least one house of Congress. The bad news is that it won’t make much difference in President Trump’s behavior. We are likely to have a rough election followed by another contentious two years of his presidency. Even with control of Congress, Democrats will not be able to leash Trump.

First, we need to get through the midterms, despite Trump’s efforts to undermine confidence in the outcome. If Democrats win back the House, they can impeach Trump on any number of transgressions. But it would be merely performative unless two-thirds of the Senate agrees to convict and remove him from office. Two previous impeachments have not changed Trump’s behavior — there is no reason to think a third would, either. 

If Democrats win control of both houses of Congress, they will be able to pass legislation to proscribe Trump’s abuses of power, but he would veto the bills. Democrats are unlikely to acquire the supermajorities necessary to override his vetoes. And although Congress has the leverage of the federal budget, Trump has shown he largely disregards it.

Short of Trump resigning out of boredom, poor health or crimes that even MAGA can’t tolerate, we can expect more of the domestic and international abuses we have seen in the last two years.

Yet as painful as this is, Trump is unintentionally teaching us important lessons about the American experiment and what happens when we elect leaders who embody our worst........

© The Hill