President Donald Trump spent the past year using fear and intimidation to keep Hill Republicans in line, with considerable success. Now those tactics are starting to lose their bite — thanks to a small group of Republicans with nothing to lose.
The reasons why this handful of GOP lawmakers feel empowered to spurn their president and their party vary. But they are launching mini-rebellions with increasing frequency. It’s causing headaches for party leaders who want to keep tight control of the legislative agenda in an election year and anxiety among rank-and-file Republicans who are facing intense pressure to stick with Trump.
“Some people live in fear,” said Rep. Don Bacon, a retiring Nebraska Republican who was at the center of a crucial episode this past week, where he and two colleagues joined with Democrats to force House votes on Trump’s controversial tariffs.
When a vote to overturn his Canada levies came to the floor Wednesday, “I was in the cloakroom, and I heard people say, ‘I hate tariffs,’ and then voted” to leave them in place, Bacon recalled. Were it not for threats of retaliation from Trump and a heavy White House lobbying campaign, he estimated “30 or 40” Republicans would have broken ranks.
In the end, only six did. But thanks to the thin margins in both chambers — especially the House — a few steel-spined lawmakers can have an outsized impact. That’s a change from the dynamics in Trump’s first term, when many House Republicans weren’t fully on board with the president’s MAGA agenda, but the GOP had a much larger majority to work with.
Just ask Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who has gone from an occasional annoyance to Republican leaders to a persistent problem in the 119th Congress.
“The margin is razor-thin, so on any given day, I would just need one or two of my own co-conspirators to get something done,” Massie said in an interview before predicting the situation will only get worse for Trump.
“The retirement caucus is growing,” he said, referring to the dozens of members not seeking reelection to the House. “Once we get past March, April, and May, which contain a large portion of their Republican primaries, I think you’re going to see more defections.”
Those who have not defected are losing patience with their colleagues, with many arguing it is only hurting the GOP’s chances in the upcoming midterms.
“Certainly, I respect their right to be independent,” said Republican Rep. Buddy Carter, who is running for Senate in Georgia. “But you know, this is a team game. We got to remember that.”