Trump is on a collision course with MAGA’s latest GOP target

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is showing signs of growing frustration with President Trump after 18 months of walking in lock-step with the president's agenda. With few exceptions, Thune has maintained Trump's demands, but as the midterm elections approach, it is becoming increasingly clear that the president is out of touch with his own voters.

Axios reported Wednesday that Thune is beginning to break with the president publicly, showing that Trump's influence over congressional Republicans may be coming to an end as the primary campaigns come and go.

Trump has invested some effort in eliminating his GOP opposition in the Republican Primaries, but those "lame ducks" are still in office. They're quickly becoming known as the "YOLO Caucus" because they have nothing to lose. Meanwhile, Republicans who have made it through their GOP primaries recognize that Trump doesn't have anything to offer them to help in the general election.

Their shift signals that Trump’s influence over congressional Republicans may be waning. Thune has questioned Trump’s appointments and policy proposals in a low-key but unmistakable way, marking a departure from the unified front the Senate GOP has maintained.

Politico released an extensive report Tuesday about the headwinds Trump faces in getting anything done. It comes as the Republican Party is desperately trying to score a win.

Hardline Trump loyalist Steve Bannon, a former Trump campaign manager, thinks that Trump still holds control over the GOP and needs to clean house with Thune.

“Is this how MAGA ends — with a whimper not a bang?” Bannon asked. “Texas shows that the President still has all the juice — it needs to be applied starting with [Senate Majority Leader John] Thune’s removal.”

Last week, Thune bucked Trump in the Texas U.S. Senate race, supporting incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Trump's candidate won.

Trump's longshot Director of National Intelligence nominee, Bill Pulte, is another example of the Senate leader moving against the president.

"We don't need a weaponized DNI, we need professionals there," Thune said on Tuesday after the announcement. The Senator explained that if the White House wants Pulte in the job, "he's got a lengthy road ahead of him."

It isn't the only clash the GOP leaders have had with Trump.

"I'm not a big fan," Thune said about Trump's proposal for a $1.78 billion slush fund. Many of his Senate allies agree with him.

"I don't see a purpose for it." He added that the proposal "doesn't pass the smell test."

The nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian shut down Trump's demand to fund his ballroom by sneaking it into a bill about immigration enforcement.

But Thune said it wasn't the parliamentarian who was the problem. The votes simply weren't there.

Meanwhile, Thune is still miffed about Trump choosing Ken Paxton over Cornyn, who has a 99 percent voting record with the president.

"I think the president has overwhelming support among Republicans across the country," Thune said when chatting with reporters on Tuesday. "We continue to listen to his advice and counsel and do everything we can to help the country succeed, because I think in the end that's what the American people expect, and frankly, that's what our jobs are all about."

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Axios in a statement that there's a nonexistent divide between Trump and Thune and that the media is attempting to drive a wedge between them.