President Donald Trump could still have his way with the White House ballroom, but the cost may be in Patriot missiles.
In a column for The Washington Post, Max Boot writes about the means by which Congress can put some discipline on Trump’s foreign policy in the wake of last week’s midterm drubbing. The historian put forward a straightforward proposition for congressional leaders: give the president the funds to complete the ballroom and, in exchange, get more Patriots to Ukraine.
It is not as far-fetched as it might seem, as Boot makes the case that there is now bipartisan backing in Congress, perhaps even a veto-proof majority, for standing up to Vladimir Putin and supporting Ukraine. Only 3 percent of the American public sides with Russia, he points out.
Boot lists a number of options lawmakers have that don’t need Trump’s approval, including new aid for Ukraine and keeping Starlink’s satellite service running. He also mentions they can turn over Russian assets frozen in the United States to Kyiv ($5 billion to $50 billion) and impose harsher sanctions on Moscow with no presidential waiver.
The whole thing rests on the GOP acting on how they feel behind closed doors. For the better part of Trump’s time in office, many Republicans in Congress would complain in private about his moves abroad but say nothing, too intimidated by his hold on their base. A poll before the election had 79 percent of Republicans approving of him. He notes that Trump’s tariffs went under the radar in terms of the reasons for the GOP wipeout, noting that 66 percent told an NBC News exit poll that his tariffs were bad for the economy.
Boot says the midterms made plain to Republicans the price of going over the cliff with Trump. Some of what remains of the party may be willing to work with Democrats on a foreign policy that puts the country before the president.
Boots admits that the president has wide latitude in foreign affairs, but Congress has the ability to end funding for the Iran war, the boat strikes, and other actions taken by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. With this in mind, he notes that Hegseth’s “days are probably numbered.”Judge Tanya Chutkan has put a 14-day stop to any construction work on the ballroom. With Democrats set to assume control of both houses on Jan. 3 and a full five-week lame-duck session ahead, the project is in limbo. In Boot’s view, Trump could get his dream ballroom in a deal that gives Ukraine the much-needed Patriot missiles.