GOP’s YOLO caucus could be trouble for Trump agenda
In a Republican-led Congress defined by deference to Donald Trump, there’s a small but steadily growing cohort who have found themselves more willing to break with the White House.
Although the president maintains a firm grip on Republican voters, the expanding club could hinder his agenda on everything from the Iran war to immigration funding at a moment when his party holds a tenuous majority on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Bill #Cassidy of Louisiana is the newest member of the club.
Just days after losing his primary to a Trump-backed challenger, Cassidy on Tuesday reversed himself on legislation involving the war in Iran and voted with Democrats to rein in U.S. military action.
“The way our Constitution is set up, Congress should hold the executive branch accountable,” he told reporters the day before.
Sen. John #Cornyn of Texas could be next after Trump endorsed Ken Paxton, Cornyn’s rival for the Republican nomination in next week’s runoff.
Rep. Thomas #Massie of Kentucky is perhaps a founding member of the YOLO caucus — slang for “you only live once,” used to punctuate unbothered or even foolhardy behavior.
He frustrated Trump since the president’s first term, and his status was solidified after losing his primary on Tuesday to a Trump-backed challenger.
Massie has enraged Trump by voting against his signature tax and spending bill and by pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
He hinted there’s more to come before he leaves office.
“I got seven months left in Congress,” Massie said with a grin during his concession speech as the crowd erupted.
Other similarly situated Republicans include Sen. Thom #Tillis, who was a fierce critic of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and has more recently turned his attention to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
There’s also Sen. Lisa #Murkowski of Alaska, who joined Democrats last week in a bid to curb Trump’s war powers in Iran.
Sens. Susan #Collins of Maine and Mitch #McConnell of Kentucky have voted against some of Trump’s Cabinet picks.
And in the House, Rep. Don #Bacon of Nebraska has pushed to reclaim congressional power over tariffs.
“If the legislative branch always votes with the president, we do have a king,” Massie said in his concession speech Tuesday.
This hardly amounts to a revival of the Never Trump movement that some Republicans unsuccessfully hoped would curb the president’s excesses during his first term or block him from returning to office.
Many in the party, including Trump’s occasional detractors, have either stood by or been unable to block the president as he launched the war in Iran and presided over an aggressive immigration enforcement operation and the dismantling of the federal workforce.
Today’s unencumbered Republicans don’t fit into an ideological box.
But they are united by a sense of emboldening that can be attained in only a few ways in Trump’s Washington.
Many, like Tillis, McConnell and Bacon, have decided to retire and can cast votes knowing they’ll never again have to face Republican primary voters.
Others like Collins and Murkowski have more leeway because they represent states that tend to reward political independence.
And some like Massie banked on the idea that voters could support both Trump and someone who occasionally crossed him.
It’s a paradox for Trump.
As he demands total loyalty and pushes out Republican dissenters, he’s left with a growing cohort who, for one reason or another, owe Trump nothing.
That could be a problem for Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson,
who are already governing with threadbare majorities.
Shifting loyalties of even a few Republican lawmakers could dramatically complicate the ability for either chamber to pass substantial legislation ahead of the November midterm elections.
Thune called Cornyn a “principled conservative” and “very effective senator” on Tuesday.
“None of us control what the president does,” he said.
The next tests could come later this week as Thune pushes a funding package for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection designed to pass on a party line basis.
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