"Beltway political observers are accustomed to the sort of craven submission to Donald Trump's wishes that led congressional Republicans to enact the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and ignore serial executive-branch encroachments on the legislative branch's constitutional prerogatives. So it's understandable that they would get a mite excited when in a single week some members of the president's party twice defied his instructions, per Politico's Mia McCarthy:"
"Donald Trump's grip on congressional Republicans is slipping. A series of rebukes on the Hill on Thursday highlighted how rank-and-file Republicans are starting to move with less regard for the president heading into the midterms. Two votes, one in the House and one in the Senate, provide the key evidence for this new-found independence. Seventeen House Republicans voted with Democrats to pass a clean three-year extension of recently expired Obamacare-premium subsidies,"
"The House vote was less a rebuke to Trump than to Speaker Mike Johnson, since it was forced on him by the rare expedient of a discharge petition that bypasses the House leadership. Far from issuing marching orders to congressional Republicans on health care, Trump has refused to get engaged in negotiations to deal with the premium and out-of-pocket-costs spike triggered by expiration of the Obamacare subsidies. Indeed, his comments have been erratic and largely destructive."
Donald Trump's control over congressional Republicans has loosened as some rank-and-file members defied his instructions. Seventeen House Republicans joined Democrats to approve a three-year extension of recently expired Obamacare premium subsidies, and five Senate Republicans supported a War Powers Resolution targeting potential action on Venezuela. The House vote bypassed leadership via a discharge petition and may fail in the Senate where 60 votes are required. Trump declined active involvement in subsidy negotiations and made erratic comments. The War Powers vote was largely symbolic but signaled willingness among some Republicans to challenge presidential authority and expose intra-party fractures ahead of the midterms.
Read at Intelligencer
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