President Donald Trump’s revenge tour against Republican apostates has succeeded on its own terms — but at a mounting cost to his legislative agenda, according to GOP operatives and lawmakers who fear the revenge tour is backfiring.
The 79-year-old this week endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for Senate while simultaneously pushing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) out of Congress, and MAGA allies celebrated wins in Indiana and Louisiana as proof of Trump’s iron grip on his party, but Politico reported the victories are creating new headaches on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), freed from political consequences after losing his primary, voted with Democrats to become the decisive 50th vote on a war powers resolution, opposed Trump’s ballroom funding in the reconciliation package and publicly called Paxton a “felon” — all in a single day. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said the president may have “opened some opportunities for people” by neutralizing the threat of primary challenges against lame-duck members.
Trump’s ballroom funding remains stalled, the SAVE America Act is bogged down in the Senate, and Majority Leader John Thune is resisting Trump’s push to fire the Senate parliamentarian.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who faces a runoff next week after Trump endorsed Paxton against him, could be the next senator liberated to break with the White House.
“Now you’ve created an enemy for six months, when you have a razor-thin majority,” said Greg Lamantia, a Texas businessman backing Cornyn.
One senior Senate Republican operative was more direct.
“Those so-called victories over the last couple weeks are just a mirage. They are self-owns,” the senior Senate Republican operative said. “We’re not actually beating Democrats, and we’re not actually advancing legislation. Instead, gas is up 45 percent due to our actions and the President’s decision to go to war with Iran. He’s focused on the ballroom. He’s announced a $1.8 billion restitution fund with zero details or congressional authority to do so. It just is crazy.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said the stakes heading into November are clear. “Voters are going to say to Congress, ‘What have you done for me?’” he said. “We better do some stuff.”
Politico asked the senior GOP operative what it meant for the party if Trump has punished his enemies but risked his own agenda.
“It means President Trump and his team have completely lost sight of how DC operates and why the American people elected him in the first place,” said the senior Senate Republican operative.
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