Jun 14, 2026; Washington, D.C., UNITED STATES; President Donald Trump stands in the octagon during UFC Freedom 250 at White House South Lawn. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images
Republican lawmakers and staffers on Capitol Hill are expressing frustration and anger over President Donald Trump's timing of announcements that go on to undermine their legislative agenda. Some expressed that the president doesn't consider Congress when he acts, while others suggested that his announcements were intentionally disruptive, MS NOW reports.
From his announcement of the highly controversial naming of Bill Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence, to what critics called his proposed $1.8 billion "slush fund" for January 6 rioters, to his 11th-hour endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the seat held by U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), Trump's announcements have had a strong impact on Republicans' efforts to pass legislation.
“The most common thought of most Republicans I’ve talked to is he doesn’t give a s—— about the legislative branch and he pays no attention to anything going on that we’re doing because all of the actions he has taken has done nothing but been unhelpful to us putting stuff on his desk or keeping a lot of our government agencies open,” one House Republican told MS NOW. “Everything is timed so perfectly that it’s like they sit around in the White House and think to themselves when is the worst possible time to do this — and then they do it."
“I don’t think he’s dumb,” another GOP lawmaker told MS NOW. “I think he does a lot of this stuff on purpose, and I think he’s trying to undermine our institutions, and it’s setting some really bad precedents.”
“We all know the president talks to one group of people, and it’s his base,” the lawmaker also said. “He doesn’t care about anyone else. And when he talks to them, I think a lot of the actions he’s taken is to try to undermine both the legislative branch and the judicial branch and strengthen his position of executive branch and the importance of him sticking around.”
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) suggested that there was little thought behind Trump's announcements and their effect on Congress.
“I don’t think he thinks about the impact on us, and the timing,” Murkowski told MS NOW. “I just don’t think he thinks about it.”
She also said she does not think the president is "connecting" what lawmakers do daily with his actions.
U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) told MS NOW that “the president’s the president.”
“He can announce his initiatives whenever he wants,” he added, while acknowledging that the "terrible timing" of Trump's announcements "obviously complicates" Republicans' efforts.
