It is hard to appreciate the magnitude of the dysfunction in the White House of U.S. President Donald Trump and its implications. Last week, his travails included the defeat of health care reform — his (and his party's) top legislative priority — along with a Congressional move to limit Trump's authority to deal with Russia, a rebuke by the Pentagon over a presidential directive to ban transgender people from military service, chaos in the White House staff and an extraordinary introduction by his new communications director. The Trump administration looks weak, chaotic and unfocused. This cannot continue.

Internecine sniping has been a feature of team Trump since he declared his candidacy for president of the United States but last week fighting assumed new levels of intensity. Speculation first swirled around the fate of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Trump said he would not have appointed him if he had known Sessions would recuse himself from the investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign and then proceeded to humiliate him in statements and tweets. Many thought Sessions would resign but he soldiered on, with many of his former Senate colleagues warning Trump that firing Sessions would trigger reprisals.

That was followed by legislation from Congress that would limit the president's ability to ease sanctions on Russia. House passage by a margin of 419-3 and Senate approval of 98-2 were staggering votes of no-confidence in Trump's judgment. The White House signaled that it will sign the bill rather than face the prospect of having a veto overridden.