Trump’s grip on GOP lawmakers shows signs of slipping amid election year

President Trump’s ironclad grip on Congress is beginning to show signs of strain, as Republicans increasingly break from him in major legislative fights and seek to push their own priorities instead.

While Trump still commands significant influence within the party, a growing number of lawmakers — from moderates to hard-line conservatives — are proving more willing to defy the White House as they navigate tough reelection fights, battleground district politics and a broader push to convince voters they are focused on affordability and kitchen-table issues. 

The breaks from Trump have become more prominent in recent weeks. 

House GOP leaders, for instance, are moving forward with an amended, bipartisan version of a Senate-passed housing bill this week, despite pressure from Trump to take up the Senate measure with no changes. Moderates have also balked at the administration’s proposal to provide $1 billion in security funding for a new White House ballroom and other Secret Service priorities, warning they would be reluctant to support an immigration enforcement funding package with such a provision attached to it. 

At the same time, privacy hawks in the party are pushing back against Trump’s call for a “clean” 18-month extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s (FISA) warrantless spying powers. Members of the House Freedom Caucus are demanding sweeping changes to Section 702 of FISA, including a warrant requirement, and looking to attach a permanent ban on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) before agreeing to any long-term renewal. Congress has already approved two short-term extensions of Section 702, as lawmakers remain deadlocked over reforms.

And Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) didn’t put a Senate-passed bipartisan bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the floor for weeks, until after a budget blueprint for a second reconciliation bill passed the House, despite a memo from the White House to take action on the measure.

The disputes underscore a broader reality facing Trump: that in a narrowly divided House, even his endorsement is no longer enough to guarantee Republicans will fall in line.

House Republicans have largely dismissed suggestions that they are bucking Trump or that........

© The Hill