WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The relationship between and Senate Republicans neared a breaking point this week as he to speedily confirm one of his own nominees and said he would not sign the renewal of a unless they agree to new terms.
Trump鈥檚 overnight social media post Wednesday that he was delaying nomination to become national intelligence director, just hours before the U.S. attorney’s confirmation hearing, further strained relations between the Senate and White House that have been worsening for weeks. Later that day, some Republican senators who have been hesitant to challenge the president directly on the were blunt in their criticism of .
鈥淭his is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades,鈥� Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said in a post on X.
The open tensions are an almost complete reversal from a year ago when Senate Republicans worked closely with Trump on a complicated effort to push through his .
At the time, criticism of the president was almost nonexistent among Republicans on Capitol Hill, and they planned to highlight passage of that bill in the midterms. But as the November election draws closer and Republicans are trying to defend their majorities, Trump is instead needling Congress with his demands and reversals, driving several Republican senators to disparage his actions publicly for the first time.
鈥淚 think somebody鈥檚 not dialing the president into the complexities of what he鈥檚 done here,鈥� Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said Wednesday after Clayton鈥檚 confirmation was postponed. 鈥淚 mean, my God.鈥�
The slow unraveling of what once seemed like an airtight alliance between the executive and legislative branches in a Republican-led Washington extends to their policy priorities.
Trump appears to have lost interest in most of the GOP agenda and has become almost singularly focused on his voting legislation to , which has almost no chance of passing. At the same time, he has asked members of Congress to , allow a temporary intelligence director that and on the Iran war.
The growing rift has brought much of the Senate鈥檚 business to a halt and put Republicans who are up for reelection this year on the defensive. It has also put pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has been up-front with Trump about what he can and cannot do in the Senate.
Trump pressures Thune on voting bill
Trump has pressured Thune relentlessly to scrap the filibuster and pass the strict proof-of-citizenship legislation, called the SAVE America Act. Thune, R-S.D., has told Trump publicly and privately that the votes are not there for either step. Still, Trump has kept up the push.
In a social media post Thursday, Trump said he would be 鈥渢he last Republican president鈥� if the voting bill does not pass.
鈥淪enate Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Senate, must not let this 鈥榗arnage鈥� happen,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淭hey will go down on the wrong side of History, as will all Republicans who just stood by and watched.鈥�
Nonetheless, Trump has yet to go after the well-liked Republican leader on a personal basis, as he often did with Thune’s predecessor, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.. Trump once called McConnell a 鈥� .鈥�
Trump and Thune talk frequently, even as Thune is sometimes giving the president news he does not want to hear. As Trump pushed for the voting bill, Thune scheduled weeks of floor time to consider it, an effort to make clear that the Senate was supportive, even if the votes are lacking.
Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt, one of the president鈥檚 closest allies in the Senate, said he has never heard Trump say anything negative about Thune.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a difficult position,鈥� Schmitt said of Thune鈥檚 role in the Senate. 鈥淚 think they have a good working relationship.鈥�
One of Thune’s closest allies, Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, said the even-keeled leader is the 鈥渞ight person at the right time.鈥�
鈥淚n the Capitol today, he is the stable force,鈥� Rounds said. 鈥淚n Washington, D.C., today, he is the stable force.鈥�
No signs of revolt among Senate GOP
There were no signs of a revolt within the GOP conference, for now, despite Trump’s pressure.
Thune 鈥渉as managed it better than anyone else could manage it,鈥� said Cassidy, who has become a more frequent Trump critic since a primary loss to a Trump-backed challenger.
Criticism of Trump has at times surfaced even among his closest Senate allies, especially with his proposed for his political allies and his pick for acting intelligence director, Bill Pulte, who has no known intelligence experience.
But the rift with Trump has also stoked some new internal tensions.
Several Republican senators criticized Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who has waged an online campaign to eliminate the filibuster and pass the SAVE America Act, in a private conference lunch this week for stoking dissension within the party in an election year.
Trump’s dwindling number of allies
Some Senate Republicans have made clear they have no plans to separate themselves from Trump.
As several of his colleagues criticized Trump鈥檚 agreement with Iran this week, first-term Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, aggressively defended it on social media.
鈥淟et鈥檚 get the Nobel Peace Prize ready!鈥� Moreno posted on X.
But Trump has far fewer of those Senate allies than he did when they narrowly passed the tax and spending cuts legislation a year ago. That is in part because he has picked off some of the most loyal Republican votes himself.
Both and lost in primaries last month after Trump endorsed their opponents. Tillis announced he was not running for reelection last year after Trump repeatedly criticized him on social media.
Now all three have become frequent critics.
Shortly after his election loss, Cornyn posted on social media a fable about a frog and a scorpion. The scorpion asks the frog to carry it across a river, according to the fable, and then stings the frog in the middle of the river, 鈥渄ooming them both.鈥�
鈥淭he dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence,鈥� Cornyn鈥檚 post read. 鈥淭o which the scorpion replies: 鈥業 am sorry, but I couldn鈥檛 help myself. It鈥檚 my character.鈥欌��
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