Republican senators are fuming over Donald Trump’s behavior, with insiders warning that the president’s actions are eventually going to come back to bite the 79-year-old.
One Republican senator told The Hill that GOP colleagues in the upper chamber are growing tired of constantly having to deal with Trump’s more controversial decisions and policies, including the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” slush fund, ahead of November’s crucial midterm elections.
Trump has also publicly feuded with four Republican senators— North Carolina’s Thom Tillis, Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy, Texas’ John Cornyn, and Kentucky’s Rand Paul—who could now make it harder for the president to enact his agenda or get his nominees confirmed by the Senate.
“The administration is creating issues everywhere by p---ing off these senators. It’s really a bad strategy,” a senior GOP aide told The Hill.
GOP lawmakers reportedly believe Trump has little chance of getting a mammoth reconciliation package to fund immigration enforcement operations, which includes a $1 billion allocation for security tied to his White House ballroom project, approved in the upper chamber unless he abandons the slush fund proposal.
As Republicans hold a narrow 53-47 majority in the Senate, four opposing GOP votes could tank any bill or confirmation process. Moderate Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska also have a history of breaking with Trump on key votes.
Sen. Tillis has been one of the GOP’s most vocal critics of the compensation scheme. On Sunday, Tillis blasted the Justice Department’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund” as “stupid on stilts” and a “payout pot for punks.”
Sen. Cassidy is also set to leave office after Trump endorsed his challenger, Rep. Julia Letlow, in the GOP primary, with the incumbent failing to advance to the runoff. The president has also endorsed the constantly embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over Cornyn in Tuesday’s Senate GOP primary race.
A senior GOP aide warned that if Cornyn loses the primary and is ultimately ousted from office, Trump could struggle to get his choice to replace Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence confirmed. Trump could also face difficulty getting nominees approved by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, where Cassidy sits.
The unnamed GOP senator added that Republicans feel they are “under siege” by the Trump administration, and that top officials are “very, very difficult” and “not good” to work with.
“They treat people badly. You can do that for a short period of time, but over time it’s corrosive,” the senator said.
That frustration was heightened last week when Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche went on a tirade against GOP senators who voiced concerns about the $1.8 billion “weaponization” slush fund, under which violent Jan. 6 rioters who attacked police officers could reportedly be eligible for compensation.
GOP lawmakers and aides are also warning that Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer, now has little chance of being confirmed permanently to lead the Justice Department after senators reportedly “screamed at” him during a meeting about the compensation fund.
Others also voiced concerns that Trump’s plummeting approval ratings could spell disaster for Republicans in the midterm elections, where the party is widely expected to suffer major losses.
“On Blanche’s face, it looked like he could see his own career evaporating in front of him,” a GOP aide told The Hill. “He knows he is now unconfirmable as permanent attorney general, which he assumed he was going to be and was making a play for.”
In response to the report, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told the Daily Beast: “President Trump is the unequivocal leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator for the Republican party, and he is committed to maintaining Republicans’ majority in Congress to continue delivering wins for the American people.”
