For much of President Trump\u2019s time in office, Republican lawmakers have had little appetite to stand up to his brand of vindictive politics.<\/p>\n
Through revenge primary campaigns, bullying social media posts and the threat that he can command the G.O.P. base to go after anyone at any time, Mr. Trump has brought lawmakers in his party under his control like no president in modern history. A single critical word against Mr. Trump or his agenda could result in a full-scale retribution campaign to force a disloyal Republican from office.<\/p>\n
But this week, in a rarity in G.O.P. politics, Mr. Trump\u2019s taunts, bullying and threats have backfired, at least for now. Senate Republicans, after the president targeted two of their own, stood up to Mr. Trump on two of his biggest priorities: money for his White House ballroom, and a $1.8 billion fund to reward Trump supporters who claim political persecution by Democrats, such as the rioters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the nation\u2019s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops?\u201d said Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky. \u201cUtterly stupid, morally wrong \u2014 take your pick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, in another sign that the party was pushing back on Mr. Trump, House Republicans canceled a vote on a resolution to halt the war in Iran, after it became clear they did not have enough votes to defeat it.<\/p>\n
The cracks in the president\u2019s dominance over Senate Republicans stemmed from two main sources. First, Mr. Trump asked Republican lawmakers to take up politically unpopular issues in a midterm election year.<\/p>\n
At a time when gas prices are high, Americans are struggling to make ends meet. And as an unpopular war against Iran drags on, any Republican running for office will want to be seen as fighting for the American people, not bestowing lavish gifts upon the president and his associates, particularly ones who were convicted of crimes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it possible on May 21, 2026, Republicans finally found an ethical bridge too far?\u201d asked Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat. \u201cI wonder: Could it have been that golden ballroom for a billion bucks that was supposed to be freebie that Mar-a-Lago golf buddies were going to pitch in for? Or perhaps it was this incredible slush fund \u2014 I don\u2019t know quite what to call it \u2014 it was a Capitol Police Cop Beaters Relief Fund?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Trump has also openly attacked and worked against the very people he now needs to pass his priorities. There are only 53 Republican senators, several of whom are already independent minded and unlikely to support the most extreme parts of the president\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n
Mr. Trump did himself no favors when he supported a candidate to defeat Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana in a Republican primary, and endorsed a G.O.P. candidate against Senator John Cornyn of Texas. The result of those moves was to ensure that there would be fewer Republican senators who feel the need to be loyal to the president.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t underestimate the psychological impact of endorsing against Cornyn like that,\u201d said Michael Ricci, a former top communications aide to Speakers Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin and John A. Boehner of Ohio, both Republicans. \u201cCornyn is a big figure in the conference. He was a few votes shy of being majority leader. He has been doing events for all these members. I just feel like that was an accelerant on an already simmering flame.\u201d<\/p>\n
Senate Republicans had already appeared ready to jettison one Trump priority \u2014 $1 billion for security, including for his ballroom project \u2014 from the spending bill. But then came news of Mr. Trump\u2019s new $1.8 billion fund to pay people who claim they were politically persecuted. That fund caused G.O.P. lawmakers to abandon plans to take up a bill on Thursday to fund the president\u2019s immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is in real trouble, and it should be,\u201d said Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who is known to oppose the most extreme parts of Mr. Trump\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n
Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, did not dispute that the president\u2019s political moves, which have cost one incumbent his seat and have threatened another, may have fueled some of the Republican opposition to the Justice Department fund.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s hard to divorce anything that happens here from what\u2019s happening in the political atmosphere around us,\u201d he told reporters. He added: \u201cThere\u2019s a political component to everything we do around here.\u201d<\/p>\n