"Governing by grievance"

By pressuring the Israeli government to bar entry by two members of Congress, President Trump once again used the power and platform of his office to punish his political rivals.

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The president’s unusual intervention encouraging a foreign ally to bar American lawmakers from visiting — and his unfounded claim that the two congresswomen hate Jews — underscore the scorched-earth approach he is taking toward his 2020 reelection bid.

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The president has grounded a military jet set for use by the Democratic House speaker, yanked a security clearance from a former CIA director critical of him, threatened to withhold disaster aid from states led by Democrats, pushed to reopen a criminal investigation targeting Hillary Clinton and publicly called for federal action to punish technology and media companies he views as biased against him.

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As Trump has become more attuned to the powers of the presidency over time, he has shown a greater willingness to wield them against his perceived enemies. A wave of midterm victories last year by Democrats, who gained control of the House, also coincided with Trump’s increasing vindictiveness in office.

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Trump has also wielded his authority over the federal budget to intervene in spending decisions related to various natural disasters. He has publicly shown disdain toward disaster-stricken states where Democrats outnumber Republicans, and in some cases threatened to withhold disaster funding from them.

As historic wildfires ravaged California earlier this year, Trump lamented the amount of money the federal government was spending to provide relief.

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After hurricanes crushed the island of Puerto Rico in 2017, Trump also personally intervened to block aid funding. For weeks, as Congress debated a disaster aid package earlier this year, Trump told his advisers that he did not want any additional funds going to Puerto Rico — a U.S. territory where the government estimates about 3,000 people died after Hurricane Maria.

The mayor of San Juan had been publicly critical of Trump’s response to the hurricane, leading the president to call her out on Twitter.

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Last year, Trump moved to revoke the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan, who had become a leading critic of the president. The White House also released a list of other former officials whose security clearances were under review. All were public critics of Trump.

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Trump, who also has exclusive authority to declassify government records, used his power last year to give Republicans access to secret documents related to the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The president also voiced support for ousting Justice Department officials who were involved in the Russia investigation.

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Trump has also targeted companies, including Google, Twitter, Amazon, CNN and Facebook — calling for investigations or signing executive orders that all but explicitly single out the firms. He has threatened to use antitrust laws and other executive authority to go after the companies — which he has accused of political bias. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.

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During the 2016 campaign, Trump called for a ban of all Muslims seeking to enter the United States. His push to ban the only two Muslim women in Congress from traveling to Israel comes just weeks after he suggested Omar, Tlaib and two other progressive minority lawmakers to “go back” to other countries.

  WaPo