“We are already seeing far-right ‘punishment primaries’ against Republican incumbents and the growing number of open seats are breeding grounds for pro-Trump proxy fights,” said DCCC Spokesman Tyler Law. “With more legislative failures and Republican retirements on the horizon, the situation is certain to get worse for Speaker Ryan.”
—
Pence’s chief of staff floats ‘purge’ of anti-Trump Republicans to wealthy donors
Politico
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/03/purge-anti-trump-republicans-nick-ayers-243416
Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff railed against congressional leaders in closed-door remarks to wealthy donors and called for a “purge” if GOP lawmakers don’t quickly rally behind President Donald Trump’s agenda.
In remarks at an RNC event at the St. Regis hotel in Washington on Tuesday morning, Nick Ayers also warned that Republicans are “on track to get shellacked” in next year’s midterm elections if GOP lawmakers don’t pass Trump’s legislative priorities.
[…] One attendee later asked how the donors could “rally the congressional delegation that does support the president and vice president, and rally them and push them to change the current leadership in both the Senate and the House.”
“I’m not speaking on behalf of the president or vice president when I say this,” Ayers responded. “But if I were you, I would not only stop donating, I would form a coalition of all the other major donors, and just say two things: We’re definitely not giving to you, number one. And number two, if you don’t have this done by Dec. 31, we’re going out, we’re recruiting opponents, we’re maxing out to their campaigns, and we’re funding super PACs to defeat all of you.”
He continued, “Because, look, if we’re going to be in the minority again, we might as well have a minority who are with us as opposed to the minority who helped us become a minority.”
[…] Ayers warned that the Republican Party is on track for a repeat of the massive electoral backlash that came after President Barack Obama was elected, and the GOP took control of Congress and statehouses across the country.
“Not because anything that the president or the vice president has done or hasn’t done, but we’re on track to get shellacked next year,” Ayers said. “On a year where we could be totally on offense because of how favorable the Senate map is to us — at best it’s going to be a wash.”
Ayers raised the possibility of “a gigantic loss” in 2018 if Republicans are not able to make tangible progress on their legislative agenda. He said policy outcomes “will determine about 75 percent of whether or not we succeed in the midterms, miss a big opportunity in the midterms or get destroyed in the midterms.
“If we do what we’ve told the American people for almost a decade we’re going to do on Obamacare, and if we pass tax cuts, we’re going to have a governing majority for a very long time,” he said. “If we fail to do those two things, people who say, ‘Well we can’t lose the Senate, it’s way too favorable,’ I disagree with that. I totally disagree with that.”
[…] Ayers on Tuesday morning also expressed pessimism about the prospect of passing tax reform, the administration’s top legislative priority. He was asked how the GOP is going to get through the treacherous path to expansive tax reform.
“The honest answer is, I’m not sure we’re on track to do that,” he responded. “I think the White House, I think the president and the vice president have shown extraordinary leadership. They’ve been incredibly clear on the framework that was agreed upon. … It was frankly much bolder than the path that we were headed down.”
[…] Ayers was also pressed on why Trump and Pence have been unable to win over the “handful” of Republicans in Congress who have resisted the president’s agenda.
“Great question,” Ayers quipped. “It’s hard to do when they all maintain their committee chairmanships.
“They’re all still committee chairmen,” he added after a pause. “There’s only one other option, and then let’s see if that option works.”