The Republican Party’s sweeping electoral victories that secured them a rare trifecta of the federal government could prove to be a double-edged sword that comes back to haunt them in 2026.
That’s according to a new report in Axios, which detailed the anxiety Republicans on Capitol Hill are beginning to sense in congressional districts across the nation as backlash to the Trump administration’s slashing of federal programs and personnel becomes painfully obvious.
And the early opposition just weeks into President Donald Trump’s second term could get in the way of their legislative plan, the report added.
"It could be trouble,” one moderate Republican told Axios when speaking about political concerns surrounding the party’s main legislative priorities. "We saw what happened in 2018," the lawmaker added about the midterm year where voter anger over the GOP’s legislative agenda helped fuel a Democratic resurgence that flipped more than 40 House seats, the publication said.
After hours of dramatic vote-wrangling, House Republicans passed their budget framework on Tuesday. But some Republicans in vulnerable districts quickly distanced themselves from the budget "win," seeing it more as a ticking "time bomb," according to Axios.
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"Last night's vote was just a procedural step to start federal budget negotiations and does NOT change any current laws," Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA) said in a statement Wednesday morning.
Another GOP lawmaker, Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), claimed in a CNN interview that the resolution made “zero mention of cutting Medicaid,” despite it mandating the Energy and Commerce Committee to identify $880 billion in cuts over the next decade, which would likely have to come from Medicaid.
The concerns come as GOP lawmakers have been berated at town halls across the country by constituents angry about the assault on the federal government ushered in by Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
“Most of the concern now is over ... DOGE," said a second House Republican who spoke anonymously to Axios, "but there's also, maybe not too far behind that, the message that they are trying to get across on reconciliation."
Democrats, meanwhile, are "eager to exploit Republicans' struggles as the process of crafting the final package begins," according to the report.
"Health care's gone for everyone ... we just won back the House," Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) is quoted as saying.
