What a 'tiny House rebellion' reveals about the true state of Trump’s GOP support

Melania Trump gestures next to then-Republican presidential nominee former U.S. President Donald Trump and Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House in New York City, U.S., October 17, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Although Republican “vibes” toward Trump are shifting negative, his critics should not “over-read” their significance, The Washington Post’s senior congressional correspondent observed in a Wednesday analysis.

“The tiny House rebellion, coupled with the defense of top Trump officials, could serve as Exhibit A in a case on the danger of over-reading cracks in the dam of support for Trump among his Republican allies on Capitol Hill,” wrote The Washington Post’s Paul Kane.

That “tiny House rebellion” is the recent defection by six Republican House members toward the Democratic side in a bill repealing Trump’s tariffs against Canada. The six Republicans include Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.), Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) Because of their defections, the bill passed by a razor-thin margin of eight votes (219 to 211).

“The vibes have shifted since early last year, when public and private threats against wayward Republicans rescued Cabinet nominees from potential defeat,” Kane observed. “Many Republicans now recognize what dire political straits they are in after last fall’s Democratic romp in key governor’s races, followed by more GOP floundering in special elections for state legislatures.”

Despite this potentially hopeful sign for Democrats, however, Kane warned against perceiving it as a full-scale GOP revolt against their own president. Most Republican politicians are still frightened of meeting the same fate as Massie, Kane observed, as Trump is targeting Massie in his upcoming primary despite experts generally saying that parties politically hurt themselves when they undermine their own incumbents.

Additionally, Kane pointed out that the House’s tariff bill is unlikely to actually repeal the tariffs in question.

“Of course, these are mostly symbolic votes, because even if the same bill passed the Senate, Trump would certainly veto the legislation,” Kane wrote. “And as Wednesday’s close vote showed, Trump retains more than enough Republican support to sustain a veto override attempt (which requires a two-thirds majority).”

Finally, Kane noted that even as a handful of Republicans opposed Trump in a purely symbolic way on the tariff issue, the party overwhelmingly refused to confront two of Trump’s cabinet secretaries — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Attorney General Pam Bondi — over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Lutnick was recently discovered to have lied about the extent of his relationship with the late convicted sex offender, while Bondi is widely criticized for allegedly not fully disclosing relevant documents in accordance with the law.

“Bondi received a warm welcome from House Republicans,” Kane wrote, quoting Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) gushing to Bondi, “What a difference a year makes. The DOJ has returned to its core missions — upholding the rule of law, going after the bad guys and keeping Americans safe.”

Kane closed by writing that when Massie tried to challenge Bondi about the Epstein files, “the attorney general dismissed him, calling him a ‘failed politician’ with ‘Trump derangement syndrome,’ meaning an irrational hatred of the president.”

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