Francis Wilkinson, Columnist

Trump's Systematic Attack on U.S. Institutions

U.S. intelligence agencies are just one of Trump's targets.

January 5, 2017 at 6:40 PM UTC

Francis Wilkinson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering US politics and policy. Previously, he was executive editor for the Week and a writer for Rolling Stone.

The view from Russia.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

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There is no T-E-A-M in “I.”

This was the obvious lesson as Donald Trump sold out House Republicans this week. GOP members had sought to quietly defang an anti-corruption watchdog office. After angry constituents phoned House offices, Trump saw the Republicans’ position eroding, and slipped them a banana peel, tweeting that they should focus on tax reform and health care instead. He didn’t object to their goal; ethics are not exactly a Trump priority. He was simply taking an opportunity to enhance his image while sullying that of Congress.