Republicans in Congress face a challenging path to and through November's midterm elections. And President Donald Trump keeps throwing up hurdles to make it harder for his party to keep control of the House and Senate.

That's coming to a head on Friday, June 12, as a series of Trump's decisions – all to serve his obsession with retribution for perceived political enemies – puts Republicans in Congress, and in Trump's own administration, in difficult positions.

Think of this as a domino effect, with each dumb decision toppling onto the Republicans, many of whom don't support what Trump is doing but also fear drawing the wrath of a president focused on revenge.

Trump tapped Pulte for DNI, a clearly unqualified pick

The most recent tumble came on June 11, when Republicans who control the House and Senate failed to win enough support to extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act's Section 702, which allows intelligence agencies to spy on the communications of foreigners ‒ but sometimes captures interactions with U.S. citizens.

Nineteen Republicans in the House joined with a majority of Democrats to defeat the extension.

Section 702 has long been controversial, but the real reason for its rejection now is a Trump appointee who has absolutely zero connection to intelligence. Trump on June 2 pushed for Bill Pulte, a federal housing official and key........

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