President Donald Trump’s attacks on Venezuela and threats to other countries as well as concerns about affordability exposed rifts within the congressional GOP this week at the start of a challenging midterm election year.
Trump escaped defeat when a majority of House Republicans refused to override the first of two vetoes of his presidency, moving a pair of nonpartisan infrastructure bills that would benefit Colorado and Florida.
But it’s been a less-than-great week for Trump on Capitol Hill, although Republicans are projecting confidence.
“This is not an unusual situation, especially in midterm elections, where you have senators who are in difficult situations,” Senator Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Friday.
A senior White House official said the defectors represent only a “small portion” of congressional Republicans.
“Republicans will not always have the same views as the president,” the White House official said.
Still, cracks in GOP unity emerged on several fronts.
Despite opposition from House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and the widespread unpopularity of Obamacare subsidies within the Republican Party, 17 House Republicans on Thursday broke ranks and voted with Democrats to extend the Enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credit for three years.
The White House official said Trump opposes a three-year extension, but the vote was not seen as a defeat internally.
The enhanced tax credits were first enacted in 2021 under President Joe Biden and have been a centerpiece of the Democratic message on health care and affordability. The credits expire at the end of 2025, resulting in much higher premiums for millions of Americans who get their health insurance on the ACA marketplaces.
Many of those who supported the bill to extend the tax credits were among the most vulnerable Republicans in the 2026 midterms.
“I have long opposed the damage the Unaffordable Care Act has done to our country, but I will not watch Wisconsinites lose health care because Democrats dismantle their own law,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., who voted for its extension, posted on X. According to Cook Political Report, Van Orden is running for reelection in the toss up district.
Earlier Thursday, five Senate Republicans backed the president and joined Democrats on a procedural vote that could rein in his ability to take military action in Venezuela. Trump responded in a Truth Social post that “Republicans should be ashamed of the senators” who supported the initial vote and that they “should never be elected to office again.”
One of the members Trump called on, Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., declined to comment on the president’s comments Thursday. Asked whether he would be willing to change his stance on subsequent war powers votes, Young told reporters, “Why would I do that?”
However, the White House said there was a “significant” possibility that future votes on the resolution could go in the president’s favor.
“Many of these members have left the door open for additional talks,” the senior official said.
Meanwhile, Senator Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who is retiring at the end of his term in January 2027, has found himself at odds with the administration on several fronts.
On Wednesday, Tillis took aim at senior White House adviser Stephen Miller from the Senate floor, calling Miller’s comments about the U.S. annexation of Greenland “amateurish” and “silly.”
A White House official called those comments “disappointing.”
A day after a civilian was killed in Minnesota by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, Tillis also announced he was blocking all nominees for the Department of Homeland Security. However, Tillis said the hold is not related to the shooting, but rather to Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s refusal so far to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“I’m just saying you need to show respect for the committee that has jurisdiction,” Tillis told reporters this week.
And on Thursday, Tillis and Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., passed a resolution in the Senate to place a plaque honoring the police officers who defended the Capitol on January 6.
The language authorizing the plaque was passed into law as part of a larger appropriations bill in 2022. The monument was to be displayed on the west front of the Capitol by March 2023, but was blocked by House Republicans.
Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have sought to change the narrative on January 6. On the five-year anniversary this week, the White House released a web page blaming Democrats, then-Vice President Mike Pence and the Capitol Police for the violence that day.
“The officers risked their lives to defend the United States Capitol and protect members of Congress. Their brave actions upheld the rule of law and ensured that our democratic institutions can continue to function as intended,” Tillis said in a statement.
Asked about the plaque, a White House official said, “The administration has no position on decorations for the Capitol.”
