Insider: The Republican pushback on Trump is not as noble as it seems

President Donald Trump walks on the day of the annual National Prayer Breakfast at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., February 6, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

President Donald Trump's $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" slush fund appears to be the straw that broke the camel's back for many Republicans in Congress, but as a Republican strategist wrote for MS NOW, this pushback might, in reality, be more self-serving than noble.

Susan Del Percio is a GOP strategist who serves as a political analyst for MS NOW, and on Monday, she published a new piece for the network digging into the pushback Trump's fund is getting from his own party. While Republicans have largely gone along with much of Trump's agenda, this latest cash grab for himself and his allies appears to have been too much for them, at last, with Senate Republicans torpedoing a key immigration funding bill over the situation and some lawmakers signing on to a plan to kill the fund altogether.

"Senate Republicans typically offer more muted criticism, but this fund’s legal and ethical problems — or at least, the perception of those problems — was too much for some lawmakers to stomach," Del Percio wrote. "And they subsequently unloaded on acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in an unusually frank closed-door meeting. According to Punchbowl News, 'GOP senators — around 25 of them, an exceptionally high number for these closed-door meetings — took turns blasting the proposal and lamenting that they were being put in this situation.'"

Del Percio argued that one thing ought to be considered amid this GOP furor over the slush fund: "Trump probably loves it," all because of how it changes the subject.

"It is no secret that Trump’s numbers have tanked," Del Percio added. "In fact, just about every week, there is a new survey pointing out just how badly voters think he is doing when it comes to the economy. Last week, a Fox News poll put his disapproval number at 61% overall. According to the same poll, among Republicans, his approval is currently a record low 80%. This suggests that he is losing some of his base — and that is reason for concern. But one thing Trump has mastered is how to change the conversation. He has no response when it comes to the economy or even the Iran war, where peace negotiations remain stalled as the cost skyrockets each day. But when it comes to rallying his base, he knows retribution and protecting the Jan. 6 rioters can be a winning strategy."

Republicans, meanwhile, have their own interests to look out for amid Trump's tanking popularity. As the president "hopes a huge pot of taxpayer money will help win" back MAGA followers, other party lawmakers have to reckon with the fact that Trump will no longer be on the ballot in future elections, and those same followers who show up for him might not show up for them again. This, Del Percio argued, means they need to make concerted efforts to court "non-MAGA Republicans and Independents, as well as Trump Republicans."

"In this context, the 'revolt' that we are seeing right now on the Hill is probably much less principled than it appears," she concluded. "Is this really the GOP coming to its senses, or is it a self-preservation tactic, as politicians try to find the balance between the leader of their party and the broader constituencies they need to win over in November?"

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