Five Republicans who could buck Trump

Real Republicans wouldn’t stand for much of what he says he wants to do.

With a narrow 52-seat majority in the Senate, the president-elect will need to keep Republicans unified if he wants to clear nominations and legislation through the upper chamber in the face of likely Democratic opposition.

Many Senate Republicans tepidly embraced Trump during the campaign, and a handful refused to endorse him altogether. Trump’s ability to get his agenda cleared through Congress will largely depend on whether he can get some of his biggest critics on his side.

Here are five Republicans who could buck Trump in 2017:

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine): Collins is one of the caucuses’ more moderate Republicans and will be crucial for getting Trump’s agenda through the upper chamber…

She signaled for months that was uncomfortable with Trump’s campaign rhetoric and announced in August that she couldn’t support the real estate mogul because he “does not reflect historical Republican values nor the inclusive approach to governing that is critical to healing the divisions.”

…Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.): The Arizona Republican appears most likely to break with Trump on foreign policy and the military, where McCain has substantial sway as Armed Services Committee chairman…

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.): The Senate’s top Republican largely avoided weighing in on Trump’s slew of controversies, regularly declining to answer questions about his party’s standard bearer in 2016.

But McConnell made headlines during his book tour for sharply criticizing the GOP nominee and denounced his 2005 comments about groping and kissing women without their consent. McConnell quickly demanded the real estate mogul take “full responsibility” for the leaked remarks…

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.): Paul ultimately backed Trump during the campaign—after ending his own failed White House bid—but he’s drawing early lines over some of the real estate moguls’ nominees.Paul, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, played hardball on the State Department, and is now threatening to block former U.N. ambassador John Bolton from taking the No. 2 spot…

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.): The Nebraska Republican has been a perennial critic of Trump, frequently comparing the 2016 White House race to a “dumpster fire” and spending months voicing concerns about his party’s standard bearer.

In a Facebook letter directed at Trump supporters, he warned that the real estate mogul was too divisive and could ignore constitutional checks and balances aimed at preventing executive overreach.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.