Fractures in Trump’s GOP began to show early in this election year

WASHINGTON (AP) — For House Republicans, the political year began with a pep rally of sorts as President Donald Trump gathered them at the Kennedy Center in Washington for a stemwinder of speeches. But as lawmakers wrapped up their first week of work in this midterm election year, fractures were emerging in the party.

From pushback to Trump’s self-described “Donero Doctrine” of aggression in the Western Hemisphere to a breakdown in party unity on health care, Republican lawmakers are showing signs of independence from Trump after spending much of the past year giving in to practically every one of his demands. It showed a new dynamic in the GOP as Republicans embark on a tough campaign to retain control of both the House and Senate.

Speaking to a group of Republican Senate candidates on the US-Mexico border on Friday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans are going to be “laser focused” on issues of affordability and pointed to legislation on housing and health care jobs.

Incarcerated border travel and affordability returned to some of the main themes of Trump’s presidential campaign. But the focus in Washington of late has been dominated by Trump’s military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, his threat to use military force to take control of Greenland, the release of case files on Jeffrey Epstein and the debate over expanding subsidies for insurance offered under the Affordable Care Act.

Recent shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in several US cities, including the killing of a woman in Minneapolis, have raised new questions about Republicans’ hardline immigration agenda and diverted attention from Trump’s border management, which they see as a political success.

However, Trump still commands most of the party. That was demonstrated this week by a pair of failed House veto override votes in which most GOP members stuck with the president despite previously voting for low-profile bills.

Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massey, who has been one of the few Republicans to consistently defy Trump, said there was “some intimidation going on from the pulpit” from the president that caused the veto override to fail.

Still, Democrats are making the case that Trump is being distracted from the needs of Americans, especially after the attack on Venezuela.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said, “He is barreling toward another endless, expensive war, while American families here struggle with skyrocketing costs.”

Venezuela War Powers Vote Gains GOP Support

To prove their point, Democrats are forcing votes on war powers resolutions that would prevent Trump from invading Venezuela without congressional approval. Such measures rarely succeed, but a procedural vote on the legislation won the support of five Republicans on Thursday, setting up a final vote next week. House Democrats are pushing a similar proposal.

GOP senators who voted in favor of the legislation tried to downplay the conflict with Trump, saying their positions were consistent with his own campaign pledge to roll back U.S. commitments abroad.

“A campaign to engage U.S. forces in Venezuela, however unintended, would run counter to President Trump’s goal of ending foreign entanglements,” Sen. Todd Young, Republican of Indiana, who voted in favor of the war powers resolution, said in a lengthy statement explaining his vote.

Trump responded with outrage. The president immediately called on five Republicans, including Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who is up for re-election this year, to “never run for office again.”

Republicans are already facing retirements from several lawmakers with uneasy ties to Trump, and there was concern that such clashes could further complicate their campaign picture.

“If Susan is not the senator from Maine, we will go with the Democrats,” said Sen. Bernie Moreno, Ohio Republican. “It would be 10 times worse. But I appreciate that President Trump is absolutely furious.”

GOP Pushes Back on Trump’s Greenland Plans

Trump’s desire to seize Greenland and his administration’s decision to reject military force also met significant resistance from GOP lawmakers this week.

Sen. Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, who is retiring after surpassing Trump last summer, took to the Senate floor to announce that he was “sick of idiots.” He particularly criticized Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of policy, who commented that Greenland should be part of the United States.

“I want good advice for this president, because I want this president to have a good legacy,” Tillis added. “And this stupidity about what’s happening in Greenland is a distraction from the good work he’s doing, and the amateurs who say it’s a good idea should lose their jobs.”

Thune and other Republicans, including Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also gradually pushed back on military threats against Denmark, a U.S. NATO ally.

After meeting with the Danish ambassador, Vicker said that Denmark had the right not to sell Greenland.

“I’m concerned about Greenland. I’m concerned about some of the things he’s going to do. I don’t understand,” said Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska, another retired Republican. “I think Congress should be more independent and provide checks and balances here.”

Bacon added that Trump still has the ability to “threaten” his Republican colleagues, but that Trump’s threats “have sent a chill up my spine.”

Health care votes expose divisions

During Trump’s speech at the Kennedy Center on Tuesday, he urged Republicans to take ownership of the health care issue. Yet when the House voted Thursday on a Democratic proposal to extend expired health care subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans, 17 Republicans broke with party leadership to help pass the bill.

“People recognize the challenge here, which is to address health care affordability,” said Rep. Mike Lawler, Republican of New York, who voted for the proposal.

He still criticized the Affordable Care Act, a hallmark piece of legislation for Democrats, yet the health care debate in Congress is such that Democrats feel confident making it a central campaign issue.

“In this first, full week of the new year, House Democrats — each of us joined by 17 Republicans — have partnered in a bipartisan way to protect the health care of the American people,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffrey said after the vote.

January 6 Plaque is coming out of storage

On the fifth anniversary of the attack on the Capitol, Trump told House Republicans that he had asked his supporters to “peacefully and patriotically” confront Congress to certify the 2020 presidential election. The White House also unveiled a website that characterized the Jan. 6 attack as a “witch hunt” against him by Democrats and some Republicans in Congress.

But the Republican-controlled Senate this week agreed to display a plaque honoring the police who protect the Capitol — a cause that has become a point of contention during Trump’s presidency. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said the monument was not in compliance with the law, and the plaque was placed in storage instead of being displayed.

This Tillis again pushed the issue to the Republican side. He said it is important to respect the police and staff who risked their lives and safety that day.

Democrats who joined the effort said they were troubled by the White House’s attempt to reframe the narrative.

“It’s very important that we be honest with the American people about what happened,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat.

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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Steven Sloan, Lisa Mascaro and Nathan Algren contributed.

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This story tells Rep. Mike Lawler’s party affiliation has been corrected. He is a Republican, not a Democrat.