The historic arraignment of former President Trump on Tuesday sparked an immediate \u2014 and highly caustic \u2014 dispute across Congress and the country, exacerbating tensions between Trump\u2019s GOP allies and his Democratic critics just as House Republicans have added a probe into the Manhattan District Attorney to their long list of investigative priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those hostilities were evident in the demonstrations outside the Manhattan courthouse where Trump appeared to face 34 felony charges related to hush payments to an adult film actress in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They emerged further on cable news, where lawmakers in both camps jousted over the nature and propriety of the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, against the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And they were glaring on social media, where Republicans howled about political interference in elections, Democrats demanded equal treatment under the law and both sides sought to get an upper hand in the public relations battle heading into next year\u2019s presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The debate \u2014 in many ways an extension of the dispute over Trump that followed the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol \u2014 did not lack for melodrama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s fiercest defenders compared the former president to Jesus and fat-shamed Bragg, while Republicans in general accused Democrats of using Trump\u2019s arrest as a way to cling to power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTrump is joining some of the most incredible people in history being arrested today. Nelson Mandela was arrested, served time in prison. Jesus \u2014 Jesus was arrested and murdered by the Roman government,\u201d Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told Right Side Broadcasting host Brian Glenn in New York on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Greene was drowned out by protesters when making brief comments outside the Manhattan courthouse before Trump\u2019s arrest. Embattled Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) also made a brief appearance outside the courthouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), who served as physician to the president during the Trump and Obama administrations, referred to Bragg as \u201cFAT ALVIN\u201d on Twitter, urging him to \u201cgo ahead and celebrate with another jelly donut, but get ready to answer some serious questions from Congress!\u201d In a subsequent statement, Jackson called Bragg a \u201cspineless weasel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), who like most House Republicans sought to overturn the 2020 election results, said Bragg\u2019s case proves that \u201cthere is nothing [Democrats] won\u2019t do to hold onto power.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday is a historic low for our nation,\u201d he tweeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even some of Trump\u2019s harshest GOP critics defended him against Bragg\u2019s indictment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said in a statement that while he finds Trump \u201cunfit for office,\u201d he thought Bragg\u2019s case \u201csets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents and damages the public\u2019s faith in our justice system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democrats largely stopped short of celebrating Trump\u2019s arrest, urging protesters to be peaceful and defending the judicial branch from congressional interference. But they wasted no time condemning Republicans for attacks on Bragg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) also appeared outside the courthouse ahead of Trump\u2019s arrest, saying Bragg \u201csimply followed the facts where they led\u201d and criticizing Greene for rallying outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMarjorie Taylor Greene needs to take her ass back to Washington and do something about gun violence, do something about affordable housing, do something about childhood poverty, do something about climate change,\u201d Bowman said in a video reposted to his Twitter account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added, \u201cDo your freaking job Marjorie Taylor Greene, you don\u2019t need to be in New York City talking that nonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInstead of reflecting on the importance of holding leaders accountable to our American democracy, prominent Republicans have instead called Mr. Trump the victim, castigated the New York District Attorney, denigrated the justice system, and fomented national unrest,\u201d said Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also weighed in, suggesting Republicans are abusing their authority by going after Bragg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI believe that Mr. Trump will have a fair trial that follows the facts and the law. There\u2019s no place in our justice system for any outside influence or intimidation in the legal process. As the trial proceeds, protest is an American right but all protests must be peaceful,\u201d Schumer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other Democrats were more strident, accusing Republicans of \u201cbullying\u201d law enforcers to protect a political ally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn a desperate attempt to protect Mr. Trump, the most extreme House Republicans are already trying to bully the law enforcement officers involved,\u201d Rep. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. \u201cI do not know how this case will be decided, but I do know that DA Bragg will not be deterred or intimidated by the political stunts Jim Jordan and Kevin McCarthy throw at him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some were pithier in their reactions. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) posted a photo of Trump on Twitter with the caption \u201cKarma.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House has declined to comment on Trump\u2019s indictment and arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following Trump\u2019s announcement last month that he expected to be arrested in the hush money probe, McCarthy (R-Calif.), the House Speaker, promised that Republicans would investigate Bragg. Jordan (R-Ohio), the Judiciary chairman, soon led two other committee chairs with a request for Bragg to testify to Congress about the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMembers of Congress simply should not be commenting or interfering in the legal process and we should let it play out,\u201d Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said on MSNBC just before Trump\u2019s arraignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McCarthy reiterated his commitment to investigating Bragg after Trump\u2019s court appearance on Tuesday, accusing him of trying to interfere in the \u201cdemocratic process\u201d and pushing back on Bragg\u2019s suggestions that Congress does not have the authority to investigate the indictment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBragg\u2019s weaponization of the federal justice process will be held accountable by Congress,\u201d McCarthy tweeted, noting that Bragg\u2019s office admitted that approximately $5,000 spent on the investigation came from federal funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The heightened partisan tensions come at a volatile time in Washington, just as leaders in both parties are set to launch into a high-stakes battle over the size and scope of the federal government with enormous implications for the economy. A failure to raise the debt ceiling could lead to a government default; an impasse over government funding could lead to a shutdown; and there\u2019s been no sign, even before Trump\u2019s arrest, that the sides were ready to ease their demands for the sake of a deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The question of Trump\u2019s fate will not let up on members of Congress any time soon. Trump\u2019s next in-person court appearance was set for Dec. 4 \u2014 about two months before the official start of the 2024 Republican presidential primary race, which kicks off with the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Next year\u2019s election loomed large over Tuesday\u2019s arraignment, with some of Trump\u2019s GOP allies rejecting the notion that his indictment will influence his 2024 bid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPresident Trump continues to skyrocket in the polls, and just like with the Russia hoax and both sham impeachments, President Trump will defeat this latest witch-hunt, defeat Joe Biden, and will be sworn in as President of the United States of America in January 2025,\u201d House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (N.Y.) said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Greene and other GOP members of Congress are set to join Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Tuesday evening, where the former president is scheduled to deliver remarks after he did not speak to reporters during his roughly two hours at the Manhattan courthouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n