GOP breaks with Trump on multiple issues

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The Hill's Headlines | PM - September 29, 2026

The Hill's Headlines | PM - September 29, 2026

Republicans in both chambers are increasingly breaking ranks with President Trump across a host of sensitive issues, hoping some separation from the GOP’s unpopular standard bearer will help avert a blue wave in the midterm elections.  

The divisions are highly unusual for a party that’s walked virtually in lock-step with Trump for more than a decade. But as the president’s numbers have tanked over the summer and rising costs have squeezed voters of all stripes, more and more Republicans are distancing themselves from Trump’s agenda, if only as a temporary strategy to retain power in the next Congress. 

The pushback targets a range of policies, including Trump’s hard line on immigration enforcement; his full-throated embrace of data centers despite the public backlash; his signature tariffs, which have challenged businesses at home and alliances abroad; and his warm reception of Chinese President Xi Jinping during a recent visit to Washington. 

But none of those issues seems to resonate quite as much as the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel, which have spiked in response to the global trade disruptions caused by Trump’s decision to launch a war with Iran earlier in the year. Even the top GOP leaders on Capitol Hill have been forced to acknowledge that Trump’s agenda, which was once their winning ticket, has become a liability heading into November. 

“What’s happening in Iran [has] sort of trumped everything else that’s going on,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told Fox News on Monday. 

Weeks ahead of the midterms, gas prices are hovering just below $4.50 per gallon, diesel sits near $6.50 and Republicans are feeling the heat from angry voters at home. The trend is even affecting traditional GOP strongholds, including the deepest red parts of the Midwest, where farmers are being crushed by a........

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