Divisions mount between GOP lawmakers, Trump, raising tensions

Tension is mounting between President Trump and Republicans on Capitol Hill as members of the president’s party become increasingly vocal on a number of hot-button issues ahead of the midterm elections. 

The examples of Republicans in the Senate or House keep piling up, despite Trump’s success in defeating GOP House members and Senators who defy him in Republican primaries.

Four House Republicans joined with Republicans to pass a war powers resolution aimed at forcing the president to end the war in Iran.

Six Republican senators voted with Democrats on a proposal to block the construction of Trump’s planned White House ballroom unless Congress formally authorizes the project. 

Six GOP senators also banded together with Democrats to support an amendment sponsored by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to block Trump from bringing back the controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, which members of both parties have cast as a “slush fund” that could dole out money to Trump allies, including people convicted of Jan. 6 crimes against police. 

Republicans have also been vocal in opposing Trump’s decision to name Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting director of national intelligence. 

Three GOP senators voted on a measure to bar Pulte from serving in the role.

Some of the pushback is coming from members who were defeated by Trump-backed Republicans in primaries, but who remain in the House and Senate. Cassidy is one of those Trump primary victims, along with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who voted for the war powers measure.

These lawmakers — along with GOP Sens. Thom Tillis (N.C.) and John Cornyn (Texas) — seemingly have felt emboldened to buck the president’s agenda in their final months in office. 

“The House margin was always pretty narrow, but now that you’ve antagonized Tillis, Cassidy, Cornyn, and you add to that the kind of dynamics you already have with Murkowski and Collins, I think you’re creating a much bigger challenge to actually getting anything passed in the Senate this year,” said Marc Short, who worked at Trump’s legislative affairs director during his first........

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