Fear. Republican Congresspeople were running and hiding just as much as Democrats, and the insurgents were specifically looking and calling out for Mike Pence, who had been a loyal lickspittle up until the day that Trump told him to do something in direct violation of the Constitution. The Republican party is trapped between fear of the MAGA movement, and fear of losing an election and being out of power, such as it is; even when they have ostensible control they can’t get out of their own way because their only remaining policy positions are obstruction and manufactured crisis.
Stranger