Sen. Thom Tillis looks on as GOP lawmakers struggle to pass President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, in Washington, D.C., June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
Republicans in Congress are ripping into President Donald Trump, according to The Hill, warning that he is smashing his own agenda's chance of survival as the party runs out of time before the midterms.
Trump has seen numerous victories over the last few weeks, endorsing primary challengers for his critics within the GOP and successfully tanking their reelection bids. Just this week, Sen. Bill Cassidy and Rep. Thomas Massie fell to Trump-backed opponents, cementing the president's grip over the hardcore GOP base, even as his popularity overall remains in freefall.
As The Hill reported on Thursday, these developments are "striking fear" into the hearts of many GOP lawmakers, but still some are warning the president that his obsession with loyalty and revenge is primed to "backfire" on him as his agenda becomes nearly impossible to pass. The GOP has narrow margins in both the House and the Senate, and for the rest of the year, the incumbents that Trump has targeted are much more likely to break with him on key votes, tanking the odds that he can get anything meaningful passed before Democrats, more than likely, sweep into power after the midterms.
"GOP senators say Trump has demonstrated his influence with Republican primary voters, but they warn his efforts to torpedo fellow GOP officeholders could make it tougher to pass his agenda," The Hill noted.
“Why are you creating a structural vote count that could prevent you from getting almost anything done with a supermajority going forward?” Sen. Thom Tillis, another Trump opponent who is not seeking reelection, told the outlet. “Why would anybody think that that makes sense? I count votes."
Fears are now mounting that Trump has tanked Rep. John Cornyn's odds in the Texas GOP Senate primary after endorsing state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Cornyn, a more moderate conservative voice, was considered by many to be the party's most electable option in the race, with Paxton, a staunch MAGA ally, being unpopular after a career marked by scandal and corruption. Paxton securing the nomination would, according to polls, give Democrats a solid chance of winning the seat with their candidate, James Talarico.
"I hope to God that John Cornyn wins next week, but if he loses, [the president’s] got a structural five or six votes [in the Senate GOP conference] that can stop anything from a simple majority for the remainder of his term," Tillis added.
The Hill suggested that the burned Republicans will not oppose Trump out of personal revenge, but will be "less willing to stick their necks out by taking tough votes to pass unpopular legislation or confirm controversial nominees with suspect qualifications." Tillis cited Trump's ballroom, a costly project he has become more and more obsessed with, as a prime example of something less likely to find the support it needs.
"I’m not suggesting that the president’s endorsement of Paxton over a principled, strong, solid lawmaker like John Cornyn is smart at all," Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Alaska Republican, told the outlet. “He made his decision and I think that makes things harder in our Republican conference right now. It makes it harder for his agenda, but it also makes it harder for the Republican team who want to be there to support the president to be doing just that."