Republican critics blast Trump order as 'ridiculous,' 'overly broad,' and unconstitutional

Washington Democrats quickly castigated President Trump's executive order on immigration and refugee admissions, while the GOP mostly remained silent as criticism of the rule mounted. By Sunday, however, at least six congressional Republicans — two representatives and four senators — expressed varying degrees of public opposition.

"Enhancing long-term national security requires that we have a clear-eyed view of radical Islamic terrorism," wrote Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) in a brief post on Medium, "without ascribing radical Islamic terrorist views to all Muslims." Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) called the order "ridiculous" and a potential threat to "many innocent, vulnerable people," while Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) tweeted that it is "not lawful to ban immigrants on basis of nationality" and that the unconstitutional order "appears to be more about politics than safety."

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) all said the order is too sweeping. As is, Trump's order "is overly broad and implementing it will be immediately problematic," Collins argued.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Meanwhile, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) defended Trump's plan, while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the courts should settle the issue.