The House speaker, Paul D. Ryan, has expressed no particular opinion on the stop-and-frisk police tactics advocated this week by Donald J. Trump. He does not have any certain thoughts about Mr. Trump’s repeated praise of Vladimir V. Putin. He sort of suggested that Mr. Trump should release his tax returns, but what he really meant, it seems, is that candidates in general should do so. Then again, he said that he would “defer” to Mr. Trump on the decision.
.. Since Congress returned from its seven-week recess this month, Mr. Ryan has largely refused to answer any question about Mr. Trump, from his policy proposals and campaign antics to his latest controversial statements.
.. This is in stark contrast to Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, who wasted no time in endorsing Mr. Trump and has maintained his support at roughly the temperature of a cup of day-old Earl Grey tea, rarely criticizing even Mr. Trump’s most incendiary remarks.
How Low Can the G.O.P. Go?
A week earlier, Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, cut off reporters’ questions about Trump, declaring
I’m not going to be commenting on the presidential candidates today.
John Cornyn of Texas, the Senate majority whip, told Politico last week that he will not discuss Trump until Nov. 8, adding wistfully, “Wish me luck.”
On June 19, Paul Ryan, the House speaker, told Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press”:
Well, first of all I feel like I have certain responsibilities, as not just Congressman Paul Ryan from the first district of Wisconsin, but as Speaker of the House. And imagine the Speaker of the House not supporting the duly elected nominee of our party, therefore creating a chasm in our party to split us in half, which basically helps deny us the White House, and strong majorities in Congress.
As if that were not enough, Ryan continued down this path:
The last thing I want to see happen is another Democrat in the White House. I don’t want see Hillary Clinton as president. I want to see a strong majority in the House and the Senate. And I think the way to achieve those goals is to have a more unified party, than a disunified party. Now having said that, you know me well, Chuck. If something is done and said that I don’t agree with that I think puts a bad label on conservatism, then I’m going to speak out on it as I have, as I will continue to do, and I hope I don’t have to keep doing.
.. You know the Republicans — honestly folks, our leaders, our leaders have to get tougher. This is too tough to do it alone, but you know what I think I’m going to be forced to. I think I’m going to be forced to. Our leaders have to get a lot tougher. And be quiet. Just please be quiet. Don’t talk. Please be quiet. Just be quiet to the leaders because they have to get tougher, they have to get sharper, they have to get smarter. We have to have our Republicans either stick together or let me just do it by myself. I’ll do very well. I’m going to do very well. O.K.? I’m going to do very well. A lot of people thought I should do that anyway but I’ll just do it very nicely by myself.
Why Is Mitch McConnell Picking This Fight?
It is no accident that the legislative issue Mr. McConnell has become most identified with, weakening campaign finance regulations, is one that pertains directly to elections.
.. This is also the best way to understand Mr. McConnell’s staunch opposition to the president: It is less about blocking liberal policy goals than about boosting Republican chances. Mr. McConnell intuited, shrewdly, that if he could bottle things up in Washington with the filibuster and other tactics, the blame for the gridlock would fall mostly to the Democrats — the party in the White House.
.. The likeliest explanation is that the insurgency that Mr. McConnell helped engender has gotten so strong, embodied in the rise of Donald J. Trump and Ted Cruz, that it has caused him to lose his bearings. He felt compelled to get out in front of the base’s ire over the Scalia replacement to avoid a later challenge to his leadership perch.
Mitch McConnell’s Stance in Confirmation Fight Could Help and Hurt G.O.P.
Mr. McConnell’s strategic affront — announcing just hours after Justice Scalia’s death that he would refuse to even consider a replacement — was presaged by other Republican moves over the last two years. A week ago, the Republican chairmen of the House and Senate Budget Committees said the president’s budget director should not be allowed to testify at their budget hearings, a move without modern precedent. Last year, Senate Republicans dragged out the confirmation of Attorney General Loretta Lynch for more than 150 days.
At the heart of nearly every major policy battle between the White House and congressional Republicans has been the contention by conservatives that Mr. Obama does not respect the Constitution, almost ensuring advance contempt for any nomination he would make.
.. Democrats were quick to criticize Mr. McConnell’s decision.
“McConnell’s precipitous action is reminiscent of his statement in 2010 that his prime goal was to prevent Mr. Obama’s re-election,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York. “Obama hadn’t presented his proposals for the upcoming Congress; now he hasn’t named a nominee for the court.