{"id":2610958,"date":"2026-06-05T08:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T12:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congressional-republicans-lose-patience-with-trump\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T08:04:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T12:04:24","slug":"congressional-republicans-lose-patience-with-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congressional-republicans-lose-patience-with-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"Congressional Republicans lose patience with Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcongressional-republicans-lose-patience-with-trump%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2610958&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Longtime Republican pollster Frank Luntz argues that Donald Trump has total control of the GOP after Trump-backed candidate Ken Paxton defeated Sen. John Cornyn in a Texas primary. similar claims have been echoed by outlets and Republicans, suggesting the party is tightly aligned with trump and MAGA priorities.<\/p>\n<p>But the article notes that while Trump can reshape the party through primaries, governing is different. Since taking power, congressional republicans have sometimes pushed back on Trump-challenging his influence over key institutions (like the Librarian of Congress and Registrar of Copyrights), resisting attempts to use budget reconciliation to fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection via a problematic parliamentary ruling, and rejecting parts of an \u201canti-weaponization\u201d plan tied to Jan. 6.<\/p>\n<p>There are also clashes over defense policy. House and Senate Armed Services leaders criticized Trump\u2019s withdrawal of U.S. troops from Germany and are advancing a draft NDAA that would maintain troop levels in Europe, limit Pentagon flexibility in moving forces, and shape spending and timelines for military projects. The draft also differs from Trump\u2019s desired total defense budget and includes other constraints, such as delaying work on a battleship design Trump requested.<\/p>\n<p>the article links growing Republican willingness to resist Trump to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-approval-ratings-hit-historic-lows-ahead-of-100th-day-in-office\/\" title=\"...\u2019s approval ratings hit historic lows ahead of 100th day in office\">declining public support<\/a> for him and worsening voter views on issues like inflation and economic performance, warning that Trump\u2019s leverage in primaries doesn\u2019t automatically translate into translating his agenda into law.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Longtime Republican pollster Frank Luntz recently <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FrankLuntz\/status\/2059440569303405054\">declared<\/a>, \u201cThere is zero doubt tonight that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> is in complete and total control of the Republican Party.\u201d His statement came after the president\u2019s preferred candidate, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ken-paxton\/\">Ken Paxton<\/a>, primaried Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-cornyn\/\">John Cornyn<\/a> (R-TX) in late May.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Luntz was not alone in seeing a political colossus. \u201cTrump\u2019s grip on the Republican party has never been tighter,\u201d the <em>Guardian<\/em> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/27\/trump-republican-party-maga\">reported<\/a> after the primary win by Paxton, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/texas\/\">Texas<\/a> attorney general. \u201cThe GOP is \u2018Donald Trump\u2019s party,\u2019\u201d Kentucky\u2019s WUKY radio station <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wuky.org\/wuky-news\/2026-05-20\/the-gop-is-donald-trumps-party-uk-political-analyst-offers-insights-into-tuesdays-primaries\">stated<\/a>. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BulwarkOnline\/status\/2056010823814860915\">expressed<\/a> the same sentiment on NBC\u2019s <em>Meet the Press<\/em>: \u201cThis is the party of Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4596217\/graham-platner-women-abuse-allegations\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Platner insists abuse allegations \u2018simply not true\u2019 as scandals continue to pile up<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4596159\/golden-rules-out-replacing-platner-on-ballot-amid-scandals\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Golden rules out replacing Platner on ballot amid scandals<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4596015\/graham-platner-allegations-treatment-women\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Graham Platner hit by fresh wave of allegations about treatment of women and Nazi tattoo<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These sentiments are not inaccurate. Cornyn was the third sitting congressional legislator toppled that month. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) also lost to well-financed primary opponents backed by Trump and the MAGA money machine. And that is to say nothing of the Indiana state GOP legislators he helped defeat because they refused to gerrymander their state\u2019s congressional districts.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet, primarying fellow partisans is one thing, and marshaling majorities in two chambers to enact policies into law is another. And congressional Republicans have been resisting or outright pushing back on Trump lately.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Washington Examiner illustration; Associated Press photos)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Committee on House Administration unanimously reported the Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act a few weeks ago. This blandly titled bill would remove the president\u2019s power to appoint the Librarian of Congress and the Registrar of Copyrights. Instead, these positions would be filled by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-leading-investigation-into-trump-assassination-attempt-says-campaign-was-part-of-the-problem-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Republican leading investigation into ... assassination attempt says campaign was part of the problem - Washington Examiner\">bipartisan congressional commission<\/a> and removable only by Congress. Readers of this magazine may recall that Trump, a year ago, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/politics\/3427426\/trump-clash-library-of-congress\/\">fired<\/a> the heads of these offices and attempted to install members of his administration. Congress and the agencies resisted, and now the legislature appears poised to make its authority over these agencies indisputable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In late May, the president\u2019s desire to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection through the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >budget reconciliation process<\/a> was <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/punchbowl.news\/article\/senate\/woes-getting-worse\/\">derailed<\/a>. First, Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate parliamentarian, ruled that the $1 billion in proposed ballroom funding violated a chamber budget process rule. Trump <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2026\/05\/20\/trump-demands-senate-fire-parliamentarian-who-ruled-against-ballroom-funding\/\">demanded<\/a> that GOP senators fire her, which they refused to do.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate Republicans then balked at the Trump administration\u2019s creation of a $1.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-says-he-gave-up-money-so-lawfare-fund-can-help-others\/\" title=\"... says he gave up money so lawfare fund can help others\">776 billion anti-weaponization fund<\/a> that could give money to people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The president sent Todd Blanche, his acting attorney general, to meet with GOP senators. It went badly. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hQP-QuXp_dM\">told<\/a> listeners to his podcast that 20 senators berated Blanche.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere were fireworks at an epic level, and I got to say it\u2019s one of the roughest meetings that I\u2019ve seen in my entire time in the Senate,\u201d said Cruz, first elected to the Senate in 2012.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Legislators have also clashed with the president over defense matters. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), who chair the House and Senate Armed Services committees, respectively, criticized Trump\u2019s withdrawal of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/us-troop-drawback-underlines-european-defence-responsibility-german-minister-2026-05-02\/\">5,000 U.S. troops<\/a> from Germany in early May.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are very concerned by the decision to withdraw a U.S. brigade from Germany,\u201d the pair stated in a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/armedservices.house.gov\/news\/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=6572\">press release<\/a>. \u201cRather than withdrawing forces from the continent altogether, it is in America\u2019s interest to maintain a strong deterrent in Europe by moving these 5,000 U.S. forces to the east,\u201d and closer to Russia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Soon thereafter, Rogers and his committee showed they meant business in their draft <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/armedservices.house.gov\/uploadedfiles\/fy27_ndaa_chairmans_mark_-_final.pdf\">National Defense Authorization Act<\/a>, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-stands-by-vaccine-mandate-that-forced-thousands-out-of-military\/\" title=\"Biden Admin Stands by Vaccine Mandate That Forced Thousands Out of Military\">sets defense policy<\/a> and authorizes spending for it. The bill would continue the requirement that the United States have 76,000 troops in Europe, and it would curb the Pentagon\u2019s power to move personnel out of Eastern Europe. It also would authorize $175 million in spending for the Baltic Security Initiative \u2014 money the Trump administration <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stripes.com\/theaters\/us\/2026-05-26\/house-draft-defense-bill-troop-pay-raises-21788065.html\">did not request<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bill also pushed back against the Pentagon\u2019s delay in rotating a second Armored Brigade Combat Team into Poland. The legislation also demanded that it provide a risk assessment of this delay and a plan to permanently station these troops to defend against Russian aggression.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The differences between the GOP-led House Armed Services Committee and Trump do not end there. The draft NDAA would authorize $1.15 trillion in defense spending rather than the $1.5 trillion Trump demanded. Rogers has said additional defense funding might be provided through a reconciliation bill, but that could be very difficult to get through the Senate. Republicans only hold 53 seats, and Trump\u2019s meddling in GOP primaries has alienated Cassidy, Cornyn, and some number of their colleagues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The House\u2019s NDAA is loaded with <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/punchbowl.news\/article\/defense\/ndaa-hawks\/\">other provisions<\/a> that would circumscribe the administration\u2019s discretion to spend the funds. Prominent among them is <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.twz.com\/sea\/congress-moves-to-block-trump-class-battleship-work-until-its-key-weapons-are-mature\">a provision<\/a> to delay the Navy from spending funds to start the construction of the so-called \u201cTrump-class\u201d battleship requested by the president. Notably, the legislation would also refuse to rename the Defense Department as the War Department, which Trump and Secretary Pete Hegseth desire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4460164\/trump-endorsement-tracker-gop-2026-election-primaries\/\">TRUMP ENDORSEMENT TRACKER: HERE\u2019S WHO THE PRESIDENT HAS PICKED IN GOP MIDTERM ELECTION PRIMARIES<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">GOP legislators\u2019 growing comfort with resisting Trump may be growing due to his plunging poll numbers. Voters generally are <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gelliottmorris.com\/p\/2026-05-27-trump-owns-the-cost-of-living-crisis\">souring<\/a> on the president\u2019s handling of nearly every issue aside from immigration. And Republican voters\u2019 confidence in the president\u2019s ability to tame inflation and grow the economy has <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/harry-enten-donald-trump-complete-collapse_n_6a169394e4b062ca52d5d646\">plummeted<\/a> since the start of his administration. The party of unpopular presidents almost always loses seats in midterm elections, so a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/politics\/elections\/the-yolo-caucus-is-growing-what-does-it-have-planned-00e4211d\">YOLO<\/a> \u2014 you only live once \u2014 logic may be taking hold among some GOP senators and representatives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s power to use party primaries to punish insufficiently loyal Republicans is indisputable. Yet, power in these low-turnout elections is not the same as executive power. Presidents, scholar Richard Neustadt <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/~dguber\/POLS293\/articles\/neustadt.pdf\">noted<\/a>, get things done by persuading lawmakers and appointees that the public backs their agenda. On that count, Trump seems something less than a colossus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Kevin R. Kosar (<\/em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/kevinrkosar\"><em>@kevinrkosar<\/em><\/a><em>) is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and edits<\/em> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/understandingcongress.org\/\"><em>UnderstandingCongress.org<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Longtime pollster Frank Luntz: Trump has \u201ccomplete and total\u201d control of the GOP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3532,"featured_media":2610959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WB.Congress.061026.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[50117,32319,33800,38710],"class_list":["post-2610958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-congressional-republicans","tag-donald-trump","tag-trump-presidency","tag-u-s-congress"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WB.Congress.061026.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2610958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3532"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2610958"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2610958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2610962,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2610958\/revisions\/2610962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2610959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2610958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2610958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2610958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}