Dems Will Use Their Newfound Majority to Target Trump Through the ‘Power of the Purse’ – Analyst
From left, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., listen to remarks during a Hanukkah gathering at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023.
Democrats’ control of Congressional appropriations could make the passage of a $1.5T defense budget highly unlikely, and will shift foreign spending priorities from Iran to Ukraine, former senior DoD policy analyst Michael Maloof has told Sputnik, commenting on the GOP’s electoral blowout in the midterms.“I think that for the next two years under Trump, we’re probably going to see some very tumultuous times here in terms of any reconciliation…We may see for the next two years that the federal government will work under continuing resolutions only, if they can get them passed,” Maloof explained.
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New US Attack on Iran Would Be Disastrous
The chances of a US post-election blitz attack on Iran “are very great,” but Iran’s response would include counterstrikes on Gulf countries’ infrastructure, including oil and gas, plus US bases and assets. The global “oil and gas situation” is already “dire,” with reserves depleted, making a US attack which triggers such an Iranian response highly irresponsible, according to the analyst.
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More US Support for NATO, Ukraine?
The next two years are “going to be very, very dicey” when it comes to the US, Europe and the Ukraine crisis, with Zelensky looking ride out Trump until 2030 so the Europeans can build up their war production against Russia, Maloof said.But even with potential additional US support, Europe’s elites may face difficulty holding on to power, their populations “fed up” with the diversion of funds from pensions and living standards to Ukraine.
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‘Rule by Veto’
“Given the composition of both houses, neither one would have the numbers to override any…vetoes” by the president “at this point. So he could sustain his vetoes” to make policy, whether on Iran or Ukraine, Maloof told Sputnik.The coming months will see significant turbulence in the Trump administration as far as top officials including Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Rubio and Secretary of War Hegseth are concerned, with the threats and challenges different for each, according to Maloof.
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