Congressional Cowards is a weekly series highlighting the worst Donald Trump defenders on Capitol Hill, who refuse to criticize him—no matter how disgraceful or lawless his actions.
The so-called party of limited government is straight up gleeful about President Donald Trump's authoritarian takeover of Washington, D.C., claiming to be scared to walk the streets of the nation’s capital.
In other words, the fraidy cat Republicans are literal cowards this week.
Dozens of Republican lawmakers made up lies about Washington being a crime-filled mess in order to defend Trump’s deployment of federal agents and the National Guard—a massive power grab and waste of resources.
Perhaps the most egregious liar was GOP Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee who claimed that he sleeps in his office because he's so scared to leave the Capitol and walk the streets of Washington—even though crime in the city is at a 30-year low.
“You don't want to go out on the streets at night in Washington, D.C.,” he told CNN. “I come from a family of public education. That's one of the reasons I live in my office at night. But the other reason is it's too dadgum dangerous, brother. It is dangerous and everybody knows it, and the people are being victimized.”
The only problem? Burchett previously said that he sleeps in his office because it allows him to go to meetings early and be more productive during the day.
Other Republicans fearmongered about the safety of the capital’s streets in order to excuse Trump's military takeover, pushing a GOP talking point warning constituents about visiting the city.
"The first thing I tell everybody when they're gonna come to D.C. is I say, 'You need to be careful. You need to be careful where you stay, you need to be careful where you walk, you shouldn't be out after dark.' You've gotta be very careful up here," Sen. Tim Scott of Florida told Fox Business.
Similarly, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas made the ridiculous claim that third-world countries are safer than Washington—an absurd and hyperbolic comment that is obviously untrue.
"Our nation’s capital is more dangerous than many third world countries’ capitals. I applaud President Trump for making DC safer for the thousands of Arkansans and millions of Americans who visit Washington every year," he told Fox.
Other Republicans urged Trump not to stop his military takeover at Washington but to send troops to other Democratic cities across the country—a move that amounts to martial law.
"Hopefully this is a harbinger in what we see in these liberally run cities across the country," Rep. Troy Downing of Montana told Fox Business. "We need to send in the troops, which is exactly what we're doing."
For his part, Trump is already feeling emboldened by the GOP support for his authoritarian takeover, saying on Wednesday that he may declare a nationwide crime emergency to take over other cities’ police forces.
“Well, if it's a national emergency, we can do it without Congress,” Trump said of his future plans.
Democrats—who have condemned Trump’s move as a dictatorial power grab—mocked Republicans for being such pathetic snowflakes.
"I walk home every night after votes. Other than Jan 6, I've never felt unsafe in DC," Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois wrote on X. "Then again, I don't hang out with Gaetz, Jordan, nor the convicted felon at 1600 Pennsylvania. But if that's your statistical sample I can see how you might erroneously extrapolate this way."
