The same week that President Donald Trump proved his grip on the Republican base by wiping out two incumbent lawmakers in their primaries, congressional Republicans discovered something that had eluded them for much of the past 16 months: the word no.
“The president had a good week electorally, but he’s really hurting himself,” one House Republican told MS NOW, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the president. “He’s not endearing himself with any of us in the Capitol, that’s for sure.”
The flash point was a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund to compensate political allies and Jan. 6 defendants — including those convicted of assaulting police officers. As soon as its existence became public, Republicans on Capitol Hill began breaking ranks.
That rejection was only the beginning.
Over the span of a single week, Republicans stripped a $1 billion provision for security upgrades — including $220 million for Trump’s new East Wing ballroom — from their reconciliation package, moved closer to backing a resolution that would force Trump to end the war unless he had congressional authorization for the war in Iran and abruptly canceled a vote on $72 billion in additional funding for the administration’s immigration and deportation agenda.
It was also the week Trump’s approval rating fell to 37% in a New York Times/Siena poll — the lowest of his two terms combined — and one of many recent polls to show Trump’s approval at a nadir as gas prices average roughly $4.50 a gallon nationwide.
Republicans are increasingly bleak about the party’s chances in November. “A freaking disaster [is] coming,” one House Republican told MS NOW, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the election.
A former Trump administration official put it bluntly: “If the election were held today, we’d lose the Senate and the House.”
“Republicans expect Trump to be less effective post-November and that’s why they’re breaking with him,” said a former Trump administration official, who requested anonymity to speak freely about party dynamics. “Republicans have realized they are being scammed and this is the week where they said enough. I can’t imagine any Republican ever allowing money to be paid to anyone who harmed law enforcement.”
Inside the White House, the mood is defiant. “There is no pivot,” the former official said. “They genuinely believe Trump has a unique ability to turn out his base for other Republicans.”
Asked Thursday whether he was losing control of Senate Republicans, Trump shrugged. “I really don’t know,” he said. “I can tell you: I only do what’s right.”
Trump has long resisted being held hostage by members of his own party. Even when advisers have warned him that he needs certain lawmakers for key votes, he has repeatedly chosen to punish perceived disloyalty over preserving legislative coalitions.
Poll after poll after poll has shown him underwater on the economy, with voters growing pessimistic about their finances and anxious about the Iran war. Still, Trump has remained focused on his personal priorities: funding for his ballroom renovation, compensation for allies convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and prosecuting the war in Iran with a single objective — no nuclear weapons for Tehran — rather than easing economic pressure on American consumers.
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“He’s pushing it too far,” the aforementioned House Republican told MS NOW, citing what the lawmaker described as “flip-flopping” on Iran negotiations from one Truth Social post to the next, and treating Taiwan like a “bargaining chip.” “The list goes on and on,” the House Republican said.
The Iran war became one of the week’s sharpest tests. Enough Republicans joined Democrats to advance a measure Tuesday that would force Trump to end the conflict or obtain congressional authorization to continue it. Two days later, House GOP leadership abruptly canceled a scheduled vote on their own measure to limit Trump’s war powers — after quietly concluding they no longer had enough votes to defeat it.
Trump going “scorched earth” on members of his own party, the House Republican said, suggests that “he’s already himself given up on the idea that he’s gonna hold the majority” after November.
A second House Republican told MS NOW that Republicans “feel more confident in criticizing [him] because the poll numbers aren’t as high as they were,” adding that if Republicans had a “Memorial Day wish,” it would be to get out of Iran.
Still, the White House boasted about the primary knockouts, as Trump railed on Truth Social against the Republicans he defeated for defying him.
A source close to the White House said people inside the administration considered it a “big week,” describing the vibe as “FAFO” and “trust in Trump” — taglines the administration often uses to criticize the president’s opponents.
“He will literally die on the hill of justifying a fund for J6ers,” the source familiar with the thinking inside the White House said. Downplaying the series of rejections from Republicans this week, the person said, “if the president has control over anything, it’s Mike Johnson,” adding that if the Senate passes anything out of step with Trump, it will die in the House.
“In many ways I don’t think they fear the president anymore,” the source close to the White House said of Senate Republicans. “Many have realized you can outlive Trump, politically speaking.”
In response to a request for comment, a White House official told MS NOW that the administration “appreciated [the] conversation and feedback” during Thursday’s meeting between acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Republican senators, who reportedly upbraided him over the $1.776 billion weaponization fund. “We look forward to additional conversations as needed,” they said.
Laura Barrón-López covers the White House for MS NOW.
Mychael Schnell is a reporter for MS NOW.