U.S. President Donald Trump holds a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 30, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
According to Fox News analyst Howard Kurtz, a change has come over congressional Republicans in recent days. Instead of rubberstamping President Donald Trump’s every demand and whim, a new dynamic has emerged. This time, and for the first time in his second term, “Trump did something beyond the pale and the brave Republicans are standing up to him.”
“It's a revolt,” writes Kurtz. “Practically a revolution,” as Republicans are finally pushed to a point that “seems to be breaking, or at least loosening, Trump's iron grip on power.”
Kurtz says that the key issue driving this change was “Trump's decision to use $1.8 billion largely for those convicted of crimes on Jan. 6,” which the Fox contributor argues was “the culmination of a five-year effort by the president to recast the protestors, who he had summoned to Washington and directed to march to the Capitol, as patriots, not lawbreakers. That is inconveniently contradicted by the relentless violence we all saw on our television screens as the riot unfolded. It was one of the darkest days in American history.”
Many Republicans expressed disgust at what has been criticized as a “slush fund” immediately after it was announced, but according to Kurtz, things really “exploded” after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Senate Republicans.
"My guess is there’re probably 45 senators in the room, at least half of them were blasting the attorney general… They were screaming at the acting attorney general," said Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), calling it a "full-on revolt."
And Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) put it like this: "So the nation’s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong – Take your pick."
Following the “fiery session” with Blanche, Republican leaders killed a vote that was scheduled the same day on one of their key priorities — funding immigration and border enforcement — rather than risk the possibility of having to vote on the slush fund, which would force them to give a public “yay” to the widely criticized idea or a “nay” to the president. At the same time, they also failed to approve $1 billion for Trump’s ballroom obsession.
What’s more, for the first time, Republicans are broadly criticizing Trump’s plans regarding Iran. "Doesn’t make too much sense to me," said Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC). And said Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) — arguably the staunchest Iran war hawk in Congress — the current situation "makes one wonder why the war started to begin with."
“Maybe the previously unthinkable idea of Republicans openly challenging Trump is catching on,” Kurtz concludes. “They're mad as hell, and they're not going to take it anymore.”