| Get Jonathan Bernstein's newsletter every morning in your inbox. Click here to subscribe. Some Senate Republicans, either looking for a middle ground or perhaps troubled by what President Donald Trump will do after his impeachment trial ends, are coalescing around an interesting idea. As Tennessee's Lamar Alexander said Sunday, "I would think he would think twice before he did it again." If they are actually serious about that sentiment, there's a few more questions to ask: Are they themselves chastened? Do they think Trump actually did something seriously wrong by soliciting foreign assistance for his re-election campaign and by attempting to cover it up? And if so, what are they going to do to make sure he learns the correct lesson from impeachment and acquittal? Throughout Trump's presidency, almost all Republicans in Congress have shown a willingness to accept White House wrongdoing as long as it didn't interfere with judicial appointments, tax cuts, deregulation and other policy goals. The decision never made much sense. Congressional Republicans have always had considerable leverage over the Trump administration, if only they were willing to use it. Indeed, when it comes to public policy, they've frequently used that leverage. That's why a lot of Trump impulses that contradicted party orthodoxy — things such as a massive investment in infrastructure — have been largely abandoned. But that won't happen by itself. The bottom line is that if Senator Alexander and others want Trump to be chastened by impeachment, they're going to have to chasten him. There are plenty of ways to get the job done. To begin with, we're about to reach the point in the trial in which senators have the opportunity to speak inside the chamber about their upcoming votes to remove or acquit. I expect most Republican Senators to use their statements to smear former Vice President Joe Biden and complain about House Democrats. But if they think that Trump did something wrong, they could use the opportunity to clearly explain what was wrong about his actions, and why he shouldn't continue them even if (in their view) removal is not the appropriate remedy at this point. After that, they could even formally censure the president. There's also a move that Senate Republicans should have done way back in November 2016, and could still do today: insist that Trump hire a professional White House chief of staff. Yes, Trump was never going to actually act in a way that, until January 2017, we thought of as "presidential." But the presidency was considerably better run in the first few months that John Kelly served as chief of staff. Senate Republicans could now insist that if Trump wants to keep their loyalty, he'll try having a real chief of staff again and he'll choose from among candidates who Senate Republicans would respect. (Kelly at his best may not have been cut out for the job, but at least he tried to keep things relatively normal at first). None of this is even remotely likely to happen. The most likely outcome of the impeachment trial will be that congressional Republicans are even less likely to confront Trump on his behavior, at least as long as it doesn't threaten their policy preferences. And this will have the consequence of making those Republicans who do believe Trump did something wrong even less important within the party. Instead, it will further empower Fox News, the House Freedom Caucus, and others on the right who act with disdain for constitutional government. But if Alexander and senators who agree with him wanted to do something about Trump short of removing him from office? They certainly have options. 1. Amy Erica Smith at Mischiefs of Faction on presidential impeachments in Latin America. 2. Seth Masket on the signals of Democratic party actors just before Iowa. 3. John Sides at the Monkey Cage on Democrats not particularly in disarray. 4. Laurie Garrett on how Trump's decisions have made it harder for the United States to react to an epidemic. 5. My Bloomberg Opinion colleague Francis Wilkinson on the League of Women Voters in the age of Trump and his Republican Party. 6. And David Karpf on the 10,000 year clock. Get Early Returns every morning in your inbox. Click here to subscribe. Also subscribe to Bloomberg All Access and get much, much more. You'll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, the Bloomberg Open and the Bloomberg Close. | 
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