While Donald Trump has engulfed the nation in scandal after scandal, Congressional Republicans have largely remained silent.  Now, Trump has put our national security at risk and faces serious questions about attempts to obstruct the FBI’s investigation of his own campaign.  As Chuck Todd said, this is a “gut check moment for Congressional Republicans.”

Profiles in Cowardice:

Rep. Paul Ryan: “’Paul Ryan on the impact of current White House crisis: ‘I don’t worry about things that are outside of my control.’”

Rep. Darrell Issa: “I just asked @DarrellIssa abt the Comey news and he flicked me off — literally gave me the middle finger — and kept walking. Said nothing”

Sen. Mitch McConnell: “McConnell does not mention Comey memo or any other Trump related storyline”

Sen. Richard Burr: “[Burr] cast doubt Tuesday on news reports that Trump tried to stop the Flynn probe. ‘I actually believe the director might have told us that there’d been a request like that and it was never mentioned by him,’”

Sen. James Inhofe:  “[Inhofe] trusts the account of national security adviser H.R. McMaster, who told reporters in a news conference Tuesday that Trump didn’t do anything untoward. ‘I trust him more than I trust the media,’ Inhofe said of McMaster. ‘I think we have all the information we need.’”

Sen. Bob Corker: “Asked whether he trusted Trump to handle classified information…[Corker] turned and shrugged: ‘Sure.’”

Sen. John Thune: “These are daily – well, not daily, hopefully, but seems like lately daily – distractions, and you just have to manage around it…”

Sen. Marco Rubio: “‘Certainly it’s less than ideal, but it is what it is,’ Sen. Marco Rubio told reporters Tuesday of the Washington Post report on Trump’s intelligence leak to the Russians.”

Sen. Tim Scott: “[Trump] is, I think, having a volatile ride from a media perspective, but the underlying policies that I think are good for the country.”

Rep. Louis Gohmert: “It almost sounds like fake news.’”

Sen. Orrin Hatch: “.@OrrinHatch on Bloomberg TV says Democrats ‘hate Donald Trump, and frankly I don’t see why. The guy is a winner. He’s a character.’”

Rep. Gary Palmer: “Rep. Gary Palmer says if what Comey says is true, he should have been fired immediately for not telling congress.”

Rep. James Comer: “Rep. James Comer, a member of the Oversight Committee, says Trump may well have been joking to Comey. ‘It looks different on paper.’”

Rep. Barry Loudermilk: “I asked Rep. Loudermilk if this smacks of obstruction. He says: ‘No… thats not political pressure being put on someone. That's an opinion’”

Rep. Blake Farenthold: “This is another example of whatever Trump does gets the worst possible spin.”

And for the rest of the Republican Party, well, good luck finding them:

Alisyn Camerota: “We’ve asked a dozen Republican lawmakers to come on the program this morning, and they’ve all declined.” [New Day, CNN, 5/15/17]

@rachaelmbade: “House Republicans are ducking right now. BIG time.”

@Phil_Mattingly: “House GOPer after House GOPer declining to comment (or discovering timely cell phone calls) right now on Comey memo reports”

@CBSNews: “.@CBSThisMorning reached out to 20 republican senators and representatives as well as to the White House to appear today — all declined”

Bret Baier: “We have asked Republicans to come on to talk about this breaking story, and we wait to see whether we can have someone on the air during this hour.” [Special Report, FOX News, 5/16/17]