President Donald J. Trump arrives in the House chamber and is greeted by members of Congress prior to delivering his State of the Union address Tuesday, Feb. 4, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks)
Is President Donald Trump starting to lose his tight grip on House and Senate Republicans? It was not that long ago that Trump would make a demand and they would rush to fulfill it. Now, that power appears to be waning.
“Is President Donald Trump losing sway on Capitol Hill?” is the question Punchbowl News asked Wednesday.
“On issue after issue,” Punchbowl notes, “Republicans are giving Trump the stiff arm. They’re ignoring his policy demands and overlooking his diatribes, even as they continue pledging allegiance to Trump politically.”
For months, Trump has asked — and demanded — Congress pass the SAVE America Act, what critics call a voter suppression bill. It has yet to reach his desk. He vowed if he signs it into law, Republicans would never lose a race for fifty years. That was not enough impetus for them to act. He threatened to sign no legislation until it passed. Still, it sits, languishing, in the Senate.
Trump demanded the Senate kill the filibuster, in part to help pass his SAVE Act. Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune refused. Other Senate Republicans indicated they too were uncomfortable with eliminating the 60-vote threshold.
Trump said he would temporarily eliminate the federal gas tax to reduce the cost of skyrocketing gas prices — a direct result of his Iran war. But he needs Congress to approve it. And top Republicans don’t appear especially interested.
Punchbowl reports that Majority Leader Thune “is all but dismissing Trump’s call,” to pause the gas tax, and Speaker Mike Johnson “called it an ‘intriguing idea’ but noted it came with challenges.”
Then there’s the issue of Trump’s highly-controversial White House ballroom. Some Republicans appear to be balking at voting to spend $1 billion for security enhancements surrounding the project — fearing it will look tone deaf as Americans struggle to pay for gas and groceries.
On Tuesday the head of the Secret Service went to Capitol Hill to try to convince Republicans of the need to spend $1 billion. It reportedly did not go over well.
House and Senate Republicans were “cool to the Secret Service’s demand,” Punchbowl reported, noting that they “asked one GOP senator whether it was convincing, and they said, ‘Nope.'”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson delivered “an explicit rebuke” to Trump’s demand that the House pass the Senate’s housing bill, instead saying that the House would work to make changes to the legislation.
House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-AR) told Punchbowl “no” when they asked if Trump’s social media post would “prompt him to move quicker.”
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), the panel’s vice chair, told Punchbowl, “I am not focused on the president’s Truth Socials on this.”
Trump’s waning power over congressional Republicans has been on a “slow boil” for months. Punchbowl points to Republicans refusing “Trump’s demand to put language blocking state AI regulations in the NDAA last year,” and his call for legislation to end sanctuary cities.