The past seven months have been disastrous for American democracy and good government. Donald Trump has weaponized the Justice Department against his enemies, sent occupying forces into Democratic cities, and given the rich a tax break at the expense of everyone else. His lackeys have stripped the government of experts, destroying America’s leadership in science and health and replacing it with crackpot theories bound to cost lives.

None of this would have been possible without the consent – indeed, complicity – of Republican politicians, particularly in Congress. At this point, the GOP and Trumpism are synonymous. And that means that there are no good Republican politicians.

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Identifying truly terrible Republican politicians has never been hard. They gleefully spout homophobic, anti-trans, sexist, xenophobic, and racist comments while tripping all over themselves to out-Trump Trump.

It’s the so-called “serious” Republicans who have proven that the party is beyond the bounds of saving. Time and again, given the chance to stand up to Trump and exercise some principles, they have chosen instead to cave, enabling his worst appointees to take office and his worst impulses to have free rein.

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Trump’s Cabinet is filled with people who shouldn’t be in any office, let alone the highest level of government. That was painfully clear last week when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the entity that protects the nation’s health, essentially imploded due to the bizarre beliefs of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has slashed the agency’s workforce.

Instead of scientists with decades of experience, we now have a Peter Thiel disciple, Jim O’Neill, leading the CDC. Fortune summed up his background thusly: “The new head of the CDC has no training in medicine and once helped Peter Thiel develop man-made islands floating outside U.S. territory.”

The Republican most responsible for Kennedy taking office was Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a physician who tied himself in knots to justify casting the deciding vote on Kennedy’s behalf. Cassidy claimed to accept Kennedy’s promise not to promote anti-vaccine nonsense, despite the fact that Kennedy’s career is premised on just that argument.

Cassidy’s hesitation proved that he knew better, but he caved into pressure from Trump. Now the entire health of the nation is at risk, and Cassidy is feebly calling for “oversight” of the CDC – as if that will ever happen.

Kennedy is hardly the only wrecking ball sent sailing by GOP senators. As the nominee to run the Defense Department, Pete Hegseth had none of the qualifications necessary and a string of alarming accusations about abusing women and drinking problems. Yet, despite his clear lack of ability, Hegseth won confirmation, with a crucial vote coming from Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who had made harassment against women in the military – something she knew about first-hand – a major issue.

Even ostensibly normal Republicans betray their true colors in the face of Trumpism. Lori Chavez De-Remer, a GOP congresswoman from Oregon, was considered a reasonable choice as Trump’s Labor Secretary. At Trump’s marathon three-hour press briefing with his Cabinet last week, Chavez De-Remer embarrassed herself by praising Trump with the kind of language more suitable for a leader in North Korea.

“I invite you to see your big, beautiful face on a banner in front of the Department of Labor,” said Chavez De-Remer. “You are really the transformational President of the American worker.” She also invited Trump to send ICE into Portland.

Every time something blows up, there are the usual hand-wringings by the “serious” crowd. Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-ME) expressions of “concern” have become a running joke.

The argument that Republican politicians seem to make to themselves is that they are better fighting in the party than outside of it. But at this stage of the game, what’s the point of that fight? It’s not as if the party can be salvaged any time soon. Trump has elevated the stakes so much that it really has become much more of a case of right versus wrong. Are deregulation and tax cuts worth sacrificing commitment to free and fair elections and an honest government?

In fact, if anything, what keeps people from doing the right thing is fear. After he left the Senate, Mitt Romney spoke frankly about the fear his colleagues had of Trump – fear for their careers, for their future earning power, and even fear for their physical safety. Instead of standing up – which Romney did – those that can no longer stand it chose the easy way out, opting to retire like Ernst and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC).

As long as Republican politicians keep caving, there is no way to accept them as acting in good faith for the best interests of the country. No matter how concerned they may be, they are in partnership with Trump in destroying it.

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