President Donald Trump’s attacks on Venezuela, threats to other countries and concerns about affordability exposed fissures within Congressional Republicans this week, the start of a difficult midterm election year.
President Trump avoided defeat after most House Republicans refused to override the first of his two vetoes during his presidency, which would have jump-started consideration of a bipartisan infrastructure bill that would have benefited Colorado and Florida.
But otherwise, it hasn’t been a great week for President Trump on Capitol Hill, even as Republicans have expressed confidence.
“This is not an unusual situation. We have senators who are in tough situations, especially heading into the midterm elections,” Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) said Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
A White House official said the defectors represent only a “small fraction” of congressional Republicans.
“Republicans don’t always have the same views as the president,” a White House official said.
Still, cracks appeared in Republican unity on a number of fronts.
On Thursday, 17 House Republicans split along party lines and joined Democrats in voting in favor of a bill extending the Affordable Care Act’s tax credit enhancements for three years, despite opposition from House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and the growing unpopularity of Obamacare subsidies among Republicans.
White House officials said that although President Trump opposes a three-year extension, the vote is not considered an internal defeat.
The enhanced tax credits were first enacted in 2021 under President Joe Biden and have been a focus of Democrats’ messaging on health care and affordability. This credit expires at the end of 2025, resulting in significant premium increases for millions of Americans who purchase health insurance through the ACA Marketplaces.
Many of those who supported the tax credit extension bill were among the most vulnerable Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), who voted for the extension, wrote in a post on X: “I have long opposed the damage the Affordable Care Act has done to our country, but I have not seen the people of Wisconsin lose their health care because Democrats undermined their own law.” Van Orden is seeking re-election in a toss-up district, according to Cook Political Report.
Earlier Thursday, five Senate Republicans opposed the president and joined Democrats in a procedural vote that could curb his ability to take military action in Venezuela. In a post on Truth Social, President Trump fired back at the senators who supported the primary vote, calling them “ashamed of the Republican Party” and saying they “should never be elected president again.”
Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), one of the lawmakers called by President Trump, declined to comment on the president’s comments Thursday. Asked if he was prepared to change his stance in the subsequent war powers vote, Young told reporters: “Why would you?”
But the White House said there was a “substantial chance” that future votes on the resolution would go the president’s way.
“Many of these members have left the door open to further dialogue,” the official said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Thom Tillis (R.N.C.), who will retire when his term expires in January 2027, has found himself at odds with the administration on a variety of fronts.
On Wednesday, Tillis attacked White House senior adviser Stephen Miller from the Senate floor, calling Miller’s comments about the U.S. takeover of Greenland “amateur” and “stupid.”
A White House official called the comments “unfortunate.”
A day after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents killed a civilian in Minnesota, Tillis also announced he would block all candidates for the Department of Homeland Security. But Tillis said the hold had nothing to do with the shooting and more to do with Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s refusal to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“What I’m saying is you need to show respect to the jurisdictional committee,” Tillis told reporters this week.
And on Thursday, Tillis and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) secured passage of a resolution to install a plaque in the Senate honoring the police officers who protected the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Language authorizing the monument was passed into law in 2022 as part of a larger spending bill. The monument was scheduled to be displayed on the West Front of the Capitol by March 2023, but was blocked by House Republicans.
President Trump and his Republican allies in Congress are trying to shift the narrative on January 6th. Marking the fifth anniversary this week, the White House launched a webpage holding Democrats, then-Vice President Mike Pence and the Capitol Police accountable for the violence that occurred that day.
Tillis said in a statement that the officers “risked their lives to protect the U.S. Capitol and protect members of Congress. Their heroic actions upheld the rule of law and ensured that our nation’s democratic institutions continued to function as intended.”
In response to a question about the shield, a White House official said, “The administration does not take a position on the decoration of the Capitol.”
