GOP insists FBI probe won’t slow up Trump

Republicans on Capitol Hill are digging in their heels, insisting that the FBI’s investigation into alleged coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia won’t slow down the president’s legislative agenda.

Only the day before, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee warned that the probe would cast a “dark cloud” over the administration. MSNBC host Joe Scarborough called it “the worst day of Donald Trump’s presidency.”

If the probe proceeds like most counterintelligence investigations, it could dog the White House for months, even years — casting a pall of uncertainty over the fledgling administration’s efforts to push through its ambitious wish list.

But on Tuesday, GOP lawmakers were working to brush aside the notion that the investigation could haunt President Trump.

“He’s got the trust of the American people at this point. Politically, I don’t think it’s going to have an effect,” said Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.).

Like other Republicans, he focused his ire on leaks about the investigation to news organizations, describing them as “acts of treason … targeting the sitting president of the United States.”

“No, no, no, no,” House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said when pressed on whether the probe would damage the president’s authority to govern.

FBI Director James Comey on Monday leveled two blows against the White House, confirming the Russia investigation and debunking the president’s claim that former President Obama put Trump Tower under surveillance during the campaign.

In another remarkable moment during his appearance before the House Intelligence Committee, Comey refuted a presidential tweet that said he had concluded Russia’s meddling in the election did not affect the outcome. “It certainly wasn’t our intention to say that today,” Comey said.

The rebukes threatened to intensify questions about Trump’s credibility at a time when he is suffering from shaky poll numbers. Gallup’s daily tracking poll on Tuesday showed Trump with a 39 percent approval rating, a historically low figure this early in a president’s first term.  

Even Trump’s supporters are exhibiting some signs of nervousness.

“The problem is, so long as Comey can’t talk publicly about the investigation, it creates an issue,” Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) said.

Trump and his allies repeatedly used the FBI’s probe into Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of State to argue she was unfit to serve as president.

“Can this country afford to have a president under investigation by the FBI?” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said at a campaign rally in November. “Think of the trauma that would do to this country.”

Other Trump backers believe the president will still be able to count on his core group of supporters as he seeks to win ObamaCare’s repeal and tax cuts from Congress.

“These are issues that are popular with the winning coalition that elected President Trump … and they expect the president and Republicans in Congress to pass them,” said Republican strategist Greg Mueller, who predicted members could face backlash from constituents if they cut bait on Trump’s legislative agenda.

“Yet another wishy-washy testimony from Director Comey is not going to change that political dynamic,” he added.

Comey’s decision to publicly confirm the investigation may have come as a surprise to many in the White House, which was not told in advance that the Justice Department cleared him to discuss it.

But publicly and privately, White House officials have shrugged off the explosive nature of the revelation, doubling down on their assertion that there is no proof Trump’s campaign team coordinated with Russia to interfere in the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

“This investigation has been going on for eight months. We know very little about it — no connection, no fruits,” senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said on Fox News. “Donald Trump’s been president for two months, and he has a lot more to show for it.”

Trump has chosen to forcefully push back against the Russia inquiry, beginning with a tweetstorm on Monday dismissing alleged ties between his team and Moscow as “FAKE NEWS” and blaming the matter on Democrats “as an excuse for running a terrible campaign.”

The tweets made Comey’s rebuke even starker, while helping deflect attention from the week’s two other big stories: healthcare reform and confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.

Trump notably did not comment on the FBI director, wiretapping or Russia later Monday night during a campaign rally in Louisville, Ky., and he also refused to answer shouted questions about it Tuesday at the White House.

Trump allies concede the Russia investigation is a distraction from the president’s broader agenda but argue that might not be a bad thing in the short term.

Republican strategist John Feehery said the media’s focus on Russia has made it difficult for Democrats to gain traction with their efforts to tar Gorsuch, whose confirmation hearings began this week.

“I see the reason Republicans are nervous about this, but it’s largely a sideshow, and sometimes sideshows serve a purpose,” said Feehery, who is also a columnist for The Hill. “I’m not prepared to say it’s a complete disaster for Trump, because I don’t think it is.”