Copyright MSNBC
At first blush, the circumstances will probably sound familiar. An unpopular Republican president, struggling in his second term, is working alongside a House and Senate led by his own party. GOP officials see evidence of a growing public backlash to the party’s overreach and flailing agenda ahead of the midterm elections, all of which is made more complicated by a series of corruption and ethics controversies. I’m referring, of course, to 2005 and 2006. To be sure, the GOP and its leaders were already struggling at the start of George W. Bush’s second term, but when several Republican members of Congress (names like Tom DeLay, Duke Cunningham, Bob Ney and Mark Foley might seem familiar to longtime readers) were caught up in scandals, some of which led to serious criminal charges, it offered Democrats a fresh opportunity to go on the offensive. The party quickly took aim at the Republicans’ “culture of corruption.” The message resonated, and Democrats won enough seats to retake the majority in both the House and Senate. Two decades later, conditions appear ripe for a sequel. Election Day 2026 is still a year away, but the landscape offers plenty of data points: White House border czar Tom Toman allegedly accepted $50,000 in cash in a Cava bag. Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida was recently hit with a restraining order from an ex-girlfriend, adding to his growing list of controversies. Republican Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania was recently rebuked by the House Ethics Committee over a controversial stock trade that violated the House’s code of conduct. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is at the center of a variety of ongoing ethics controversies. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was plagued by scandal before GOP senators confirmed him, is facing an ongoing investigation from the Pentagon’s inspector general’s office. Though the Trump Justice Department conveniently lost interest in the case, Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee was facing a serious federal criminal investigation. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has faced so many ethics allegations that it became challenging to keep up with all of them. Donald Trump, a convicted felon, is practically a pioneer when it comes to corruption, not only abusing government agencies and processes, but also using his position to enrich himself and his family. This is not even a comprehensive list. These are just the names that came to mind.
