Republican Senator Spins Trump Attacks as Necessary ‘Test’ of U.S. Constitution
Sen. John Curtis believes the U.S. Constitution can withstand political turmoil in Washington DC.
A Republican senator has tried to reframe concerns about President Donald Trump’s attacks on Congress as the MAGA leader simply initiating a “test” on the U.S Constitution.
In an interview Sunday with Margaret Brennan on CBS News’ Face the Nation, Sen. John Curtis said he trusted the “beauty of the system” despite repeated threats from President Trump and DOGE to freeze federal funding and overrule Congress.
Curtis’s statements were prompted by Brennan, who asked him about whether the president had the authority to cancel funding approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate.
“What we’re seeing play out is this wrestle between the three branches of government,” Curtis claimed.
“I believe this is how we test the Constitution,” he continued. “People have said, ‘Oh, this is a constitutional crisis,’ and I say exactly the opposite. It’s proving to work.”
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The senator from Utah went further in his praise of the current ordeal unfolding over Elon Musk‘s purge of federal employees, claiming many parties were “playing” and taking part in the so-called test.
Sen. John Curtis compares Trump purging the military to "a stop the car moment."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 23, 2025
"Those of us who have had young kids and been on family vacations know what a 'stop the car moment' is. 'Kids you're so disruptive we're stopping the car.' I think in many ways the American people… pic.twitter.com/BOWVIHkGeS
“I think we hold a lot of responsibility for what’s happening right now. We could solve the budget as Congress. We could solve the border. We haven’t,” he said. “When Congress doesn’t do their job, the White House has a tendency to try to solve it. Let’s let this play out by the Constitution, and then Congress.”
Curtis’ wait-and-see approach may be too late for many of America’s legal advisers and federal workers who have already lost their jobs in mass job purges.
More than 200,000 federal workers have been purged after cuts were made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to ABC News.
Others have chosen to resign in protest against the Trump administration.
This includes a U.S. Department of the Interior lawyer, Jacob Malcom, who slammed claims that federal workers had been fired due to “poor performance,” The Guardian reported earlier this week.
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