The EconomistJanuary 20th 2018 United States 331O
NE is struggling to stay in his job, the
other is scrambling to leave it. Eric
Greitens, the Republican governor of Mis-
souri, is fighting for his political life after a
television station in St Louis revealed an
extramarital affair, as well as allegations of
blackmail and violence, less than three
hours after he gave his state-of-the-state ad-
dress on January 10th. Sam Brownback,
another Republican, announced six
months ago that he was stepping down as
governor of Kansas to become President
Donald Trump’sambassador-at-large for
religious freedom, but his nomination has
not yet been confirmed bythe Senate and
so he has remained as governor. Both are
in an embarrassing limbo.
For Mr Greitens, the uncertainty over
his political future is more painful because
he was just starting out in politics. The 43-
year-old former NavySEAL, Rhodes schol-
ar and White House fellow, who had never
before run for office, was the surprise win-
ner of Missouri’s gubernatorial election in
2016, trumping Chris Koster, the state’s at-
torney-general. Conservatives admired Mr
Greitens for his promises to clean up public
life, and to pass right-to-work (RTW) legis-
lation that prevents unions from requiring
workers to pay union fees. Hisvows to cut
taxes, to protect fetuses and to defend gun
rights were popular too (he is often pic-
tured clad in military fatigues, shotgun in
hand). Governors in other states sought
the support of this photogenic rising Re-
publican star. Bruce Rauner, the governor
of Illinois, featured Mr Greitens in one of
his campaign ads. Kim Reynolds, the go-
vernor of Iowa, invited him as a keynote
speaker to a fund-raiser.
In his home state, however, Mr Greitens
has fewer political friends and allies. De-
nouncing lawmakers in Missouri with his
attacks on “career politicians” who have
“turned Jefferson City into a corrupt, do-
nothing embarrassment” did not help. He
is known for berating state senators in priv-
ate meetings and he publicly ridiculed two
Republican state senators who seemed to
stand in the way of his efforts to bring a
steel mill to Missouri. His non-profit orga-
nisation, A New Missouri, ran ads attack-
ing Rob Schaaf, a Republican state senator
who criticised Mr Greitens’s use of “dark
money”, or campaign donations from un-
disclosed sources. The ads even disclosed
Mr Schaaf’s mobile-phone number.
“There is real animosity between the
governor and some Republican lawmak-ers,” says John Hancock, a former chair-
man of the GOPin Missouri. No Republi-
can in the legislature defended Mr Greitens
the day after the news about his extramar-
ital affair (which he admits) and the allega-
tions of blackmail (which he denies) were
aired on television. “Stick a fork in him,”
tweeted Senator Schaaf. On January 16th
four Republican members of the state
house called for Mr Greitens’s resignation.
“They have thrown him to the wolves,”
says Patrick Miller at the University of Kan-
sas. A website called ericgreitensresign-
.com is collecting signatories.
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Kansas,the Kansas City Star, has called for Gover-
nor Brownback’s resignation “for the good
of the good people ofKansas”. In anticipa-
tion of his ambassadorial role Mr Brown-
back started to hand responsibilities to his
likely successor, Jeff Colyer, a plastic sur-
geon who is lieutenant-governor. Mr Co-
lyer announced a new cabinet appoint-
ment and was widely expected to be in
charge at the start of this year. Yet Mr
Brownback refuses to go. On January 9th
the governor made his state-of-the-state
address. Having already created a hole in
the state’s budget with huge tax cuts, he
called for an extra $600m in school fund-
ing without explaining where the money
would come from. “Nobody knows who
exactly is in charge of the state,” says Mr
Miller of the University of Kansas.
Few doubt that Mr Brownback, who
served in the Senate for 14 years and as
state governor since 2011, will eventually
be confirmed as Mr Trump’s ambassador.
All 75 senators nominated to ambassador-
ships were subsequently confirmed by the
Senate. As for Mr Greitens, opinions on
whether he can stay in his job are divided.
“If criminal evidence of blackmail
emerges, he is done,” says David Kensin-
ger, a former chief-of-staff to Mr Brown-
back. If not, “I absolutelythink he will sur-
vive it,” says Mr Hancock, the former
chairman of Missouri’sRepublican Party.
Mark Sanford was able to remain governor
of South Carolina after a very public reve-
lation of an extramarital affair. He is now a
humble congressman. Redemption is pos-
sible, but until his private life became polit-
ical, Mr Greitens seemed on course for
much more than that. 7Kansas and MissouriIn a state
CHICAGO
Two midwestern governors have some
trouble governingGreitens, contritensO
N JANUARY 12th President Donald
Trump declared that if the “disastrous
flaws” in the nuclear deal with Iran are not
fixed within 120 days, he will pull America
out of it. He renewed the presidential waiv-
er that lifts nuclear-related sanctions on
Iran, but signalled that this was a final re-
prieve rather than a change of heart.
Mr Trump says he wants a new agree-
ment to modify the pact of 2015 that curbed
Iran’s nuclear programme, known as the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA), in return for limited relief on
sanctions. Among Mr Trump’s demands
are ending the expiry clausesin the agree-
ment that, for example, allow Iran after 15
years to enrich uranium beyond the 3.67%normally required for commercial power
production; a ban on ballistic-missile test-
ing; and unconstrained access for Interna-
tional Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to
any militarysite, regardless of whether
there has been any indication of nuclear
activity there.
Mr Trump has now twice refused to re-
certify that Iran is in compliance with the
deal (a requirement every 90 days under
legislation passed underthe Obama ad-
ministration), despite all the evidence sug-
gesting that it is. Without a desire on the
part of Congress to get involved, and there
has been little sign of that, decertification is
more a gesture of defiance than a mortal
threat to the JCPOA. If, however, Mr TrumpThe Iran nuclear agreementTrump card
Donald Trump gives his European allies 120 days to get a better deal