Trump faces broader Republican pushback in Congress as midterms approach

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump is encountering wider resistance from within the Republican Party in Congress, where lawmakers who had long avoided confronting him are increasingly willing to oppose the US president as pressure builds ahead of the midterm elections.

In the past week alone, different Republican groups in the Senate and House moved against several of his priorities. They criticised his campaign against Iran, rejected $1 billion linked to a White House ballroom, forced him to back away from a $1.8 billion anti-weaponisation fund and blocked his domestic surveillance legislation. On Thursday, the House also passed a bill providing assistance to Ukraine and introducing fresh sanctions on Russia, a measure that appears likely to be vetoed by Trump.

While both Republicans and Democrats do not see these moves as a full-scale uprising against Trump, a broader bloc of Republicans is now prepared to part ways with him, including some lawmakers whose political careers were hurt after he intervened against them. That could complicate some of his biggest goals before Election Day.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who announced his retirement last year after opposing Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, said lawmakers were increasingly focused on voters’ preferences as the election nears.

"I think what you're seeing as you get closer to the election is that people are going to vote the way they think their constituents want them to"

Democrats, however, played down the significance of the dissent. Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat who at times backs Trump-supported measures, argued that the defections came mainly from figures already pushed aside by the president.

"The people that are breaking with him are ones that were put out by Trump""That actually demonstrates his absolute control over the party"

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the Republican resistance as election-year positioning.

"Not every single member will absorb the political cost on every single issue"

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson also rejected suggestions of a serious split.

"While the media and Democrats attempt to sow nonexistent divisions, we look forward to continuing this close relationship to continue fulfilling President Trump's agenda"

A new willingness to resist Trump

For years, congressional Republicans largely stood by Trump in public, supporting contentious cabinet nominees, offering little resistance to executive actions and backing his flagship legislation despite concerns over the expanding deficit and cuts to Medicaid for low-income Americans.

Resentment has deepened since Trump opposed the reelection campaigns of Republican Senators Bill Cassidy and John Cornyn and disrupted the party’s congressional plans with a series of poorly timed announcements.

The turning point came shortly before the Memorial Day holiday, when Trump’s opposition to Cornyn’s reelection and the announcement of the anti-weaponisation fund led Senate Republicans to drop a $70 billion immigration enforcement funding bill and leave Washington frustrated and angry.

A Senate Republican aide described the episode as a convergence of damaging developments.

"That was kind of like a perfect storm of events"

The Senate later approved the immigration enforcement funding bill on Friday. Republicans also voted against a Democratic amendment that sought to block the anti-weaponisation fund, even though some lawmakers are worried it could be used to benefit January 6 Capitol rioters and other Trump political allies.

Trump is also pressing to nominate loyalist Bill Pulte to replace Tulsi Gabbard as temporary Director of National Intelligence, despite concerns among key Republicans. Senator Mitch McConnell said he would not support Pulte as a permanent DNI, saying the law required nominees with extensive experience.

"No nominee who falls short of this requirement will earn my vote"

Battles over nominations loom

So far, Republican resistance in the House and Senate has largely been symbolic. On Thursday, three Senate Republicans facing difficult elections — Susan Collins, Jon Husted and Dan Sullivan — joined Democrats in an unsuccessful effort to prohibit Trump’s anti-weaponisation fund, alongside two other Republican attempts to scrap it.

As lawmakers voted, Republican Senator Jim Banks, a Trump ally, said the party remained united behind the president’s central legislative objectives.

"This whole exercise is to pass President Trump's top agenda item to secure the border, fund ICE. What's happening on the floor right now shows the solidarity that we have with the president"

Another major test is expected if Trump formally nominates his former attorney Todd Blance as permanent US attorney general. The nomination may face a difficult path in the Senate, beginning with the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Cornyn serves. Cornyn said his backing would depend on Blanche’s responses to key questions.

"The attorney general is not the president's private lawyer""I want to make sure he understands the difference and is committed to making sure that the law is enforced"