republicans are eager to talk about obamacare, infrastructure, tax reform <u+2014> anything but donald trump<u+2019>s twitter account. after spending much of the year bobbing and weaving from questions about trump<u+2019>s latest 140-character outburst, gop lawmakers returned to washington this week only to be once again barraged with questions about the president-elect<u+2019>s controversial remarks on flag burning and unsubstantiated voter fraud. while a few senators tried to defend trump<u+2019>s tweets, most other republicans gently urged trump to move on or feigned ignorance. story continued below <u+201c>i think the election<u+2019>s over with, we have a result and we<u+2019>re ready to move forward,<u+201d> said south dakota sen. john thune, the third-ranking republican leader. <u+201c>and i hope the country is, too. we<u+2019>ve got a lot of work ahead of us.<u+201d> senate majority leader mitch mcconnell summed up his party<u+2019>s take on trump<u+2019>s voter fraud claims. <u+201c>the election is over,<u+201d> the kentucky republican told reporters. <u+201c>we all know it, and it<u+2019>s time to move on.<u+201d> mcconnell dispatched with trump<u+2019>s views on flag burning in similarly blunt fashion, saying that <u+201c>i happen to support<u+201d> the supreme court<u+2019>s 5-4 ruling in 1989 that flag desecration is constitutionally protected speech. sen. john mccain (r-ariz.), after offering a sliver of support for trump<u+2019>s suggestion that flag burners face jail or loss of citizenship, then repeatedly swatted away queries about the president-elect. by nolan d. mccaskill and madeline conway <u+201c>i<u+2019>m not commenting on donald trump<u+2019>s daily comments,<u+201d> he told one group of reporters, only to later remind another that <u+201c>i will not speak about donald trump.<u+201d> mccain<u+2019>s longtime ally and fellow critic of trump<u+2019>s foreign policy, sen. lindsey graham of south carolina told trump on tuesday to <u+201c>please stop saying that<u+201d> millions of votes were cast illegally without evidence to verify it. asked whether trump should get rid of his twitter account, an idea that nearly 6 in 10 voters supported in a quinnipiac university poll this month, graham seemed open to the idea. <u+201c>i think we need to have a lot of confidence <u+2014> and i do <u+2014> in our electoral system,<u+201d> west virginia sen. shelley moore capito said of trump<u+2019>s voter fraud tweets on tuesday. <u+201c>and i think he<u+2019>s probably making those comments in response to the recount, but i<u+2019>d rather have us looking forward.<u+201d> trump<u+2019>s penchant for stoking controversy on social media shows no signs of abating, even as he and his transition team continue the work of building out a government. republicans were more than happy to talk about a trio of conservatives picked by trump for his cabinet, which they viewed as an encouraging sign that trump<u+2019>s government would be more sober and deliberate than his twitter feed. but the parallel activities have congressional republicans navigating an awkward new reality of fighting online distractions from their own president-elect to keep the washington narrative focused on their policy goals. <u+201c>i<u+2019>ve seen the back-and-forth,<u+201d> senate majority whip john cornyn said late monday as trump continued to grab headlines with his baseless voter fraud claims. <u+201c>but frankly,<u+201d> the texas senator said, <u+201c>i<u+2019>m involved in other stuff that<u+2019>s more demanding of my time.<u+201d> sen. orrin hatch readily defended trump<u+2019>s opposition to flag burning on tuesday. <u+201c>good for him,<u+201d> said the utah republican, who in 2006 fell one vote short in his push for a constitutional amendment that would have permitted a ban on flag desecration. presidential transition by eli stokols as for trump<u+2019>s suggested punishment for flag burning, however, hatch demurred. <u+201c>it is a beloved flag, and we should treat it so. but i<u+2019>m not for putting people in jail, necessarily.<u+201d> sen. joni ernst of iowa sounded a similar note when asked about trump<u+2019>s tweet on flag burning, saying only that <u+201c>i wouldn<u+2019>t go that far.<u+201d> sen. david perdue of georgia said that while the flag <u+201c>represents our free way of life<u+201d> and <u+201c>should be flown every day,<u+201d> the supreme court<u+2019>s decision still stands. trump<u+2019>s own spokesman, jason miller, encountered the same problem that republican senators had on tuesday. miller nudged cnn<u+2019>s chris cuomo to focus on the nomination of georgia rep. tom price as health and human services secretary rather than the prospect of jailing flag burners. <u+201c>[f]lag burning should be illegal,<u+201d> miller told cuomo. <u+201c>end of story.<u+201d> republican lawmakers are unlikely to attempt to pry trump from his twitter account for now, even as his fondness for the forum imbues every new thought from his mobile device with heightened importance. the president-elect vowed during a nov. 13 sitdown with <u+201c>60 minutes<u+201d> to be <u+201c>very restrained<u+201d> on twitter as president, <u+201c>if i use it at all.<u+201d> but before and perhaps even after trump is inaugurated, members of his party will have to keep dealing with his tweeted distractions <u+2014> or not dealing with them, as the case may be. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m not gonna get into that issue,<u+201d> indiana<u+2019>s retiring sen. dan coats said of trump<u+2019>s tweets. <u+201c>i<u+2019>ve just finished a weekend away from politics, enjoyed thanksgiving. so i haven<u+2019>t been up to date on the news.<u+201d> by bill scher by joshua zeitz by thomas wright by jack shafer
when trump types, gop lawmakers squirm - politico
elana schor seung min kim nolan d. mccaskill madeline conway eli stokols jack shafer