'A freaking disaster is coming': GOP lawmakers rushing to bail on Trump
A combination of bad Donald Trump polling and highly controversial proposals like his so-called “slush fund” to compensate allies who feel they were victimized by President Joe Biden’s DOJ for their criminality has finally given GOP lawmakers the nudge they needed to abandon him and save their own careers.
According to MS NOW, a single week of Republican defiance saw GOP lawmakers strip $1 billion in security upgrades — including $220 million for Trump's new East Wing ballroom — from their reconciliation package, move closer to backing a resolution forcing Trump to end the Iran war without congressional authorization, and abruptly cancel a vote on $72 billion in additional funding for the administration's immigration and deportation agenda.
The week coincided with Trump's approval rating falling to 37% in a New York Times/Siena poll — the lowest of his two terms combined. Gas prices averaging roughly $4.50 per gallon nationwide have become a constant reminder to voters of the economic pain inflicted by his Iran war.
Republicans are increasingly bleak about the party's electoral prospects. "A freaking disaster [is] coming," one House Republican told MS NOW, speaking anonymously to discuss the election frankly.
A former Trump administration official was more direct: "If the election were held today, we'd lose the Senate and the House."
Republicans have finally reached a breaking point over Trump's controversial $1.8 billion "slush fund" designed to compensate allies who claim victimization by the Biden administration's DOJ — despite their criminality.
"Republicans have realized they are being scammed and this is the week where they said enough. I can't imagine any Republican ever allowing money to be paid to anyone who harmed law enforcement," a former Trump administration official admitted to MS NOW.
GOP lawmakers cited Trump's erratic governance as justification for their rebellion. One House Republican criticized what the lawmaker described as "flip-flopping" on Iran negotiations from one Truth Social post to the next, and treating Taiwan like a "bargaining chip."
"He's pushing it too far. The list goes on and on," the House Republican said.
A second House Republican told MS NOW that Republicans "feel more confident in criticizing [him] because the poll numbers aren't as high as they were," adding that if Republicans had a "Memorial Day wish," it would be to exit the Iran war entirely.
A source close to the White House revealed the fundamental shift in Republican calculations, telling MS NOW's Laura Barrón-López and Mychael Schnell, "In many ways I don't think they [GOP lawmakers] fear the president anymore. Many have realized you can outlive Trump, politically speaking."