Tensions rise with Trump and Republican senators ahead of midterms

By — Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/tensions-rise-with-trump-and-republican-senators-ahead-of-midterms Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Tensions rise with Trump and Republican senators ahead of midterms Politics Jun 19, 2026 12:22 PM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The relationship between President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans neared a breaking point this week as he upended their efforts to speedily confirm one of his own nominees and said he would not sign the renewal of a key surveillance law unless they agree to new terms. Trump's overnight social media post Wednesday that he was delaying Jay Clayton's nomination to become national intelligence director, just hours before the U.S. attorney's confirmation hearing, further strained relations between the Senate and White House that have been worsening for weeks. Later that day, some Republican senators who have been hesitant to challenge the president directly on the Iran war were blunt in their criticism of his deal to end it. "This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades," Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said in a post on X. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. The open tensions are an almost complete reversal from a year ago when Senate Republicans worked closely with Trump on a complicated effort to push through his massive package of spending and tax cuts. At the time, criticism of the president was almost nonexistent among Republicans on Capitol Hill, and they planned to highlight passage of that bill in the midterms. But as the November election draws closer and Republicans are trying to defend their majorities, Trump is instead needling Congress with his demands and reversals, driving several Republican senators to disparage his actions publicly for the first time. "I think somebody's not dialing the president into the complexities of what he's done here," Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said Wednesday after Clayton's confirmation was postponed. "I mean, my God." The slow unraveling of what once seemed like an airtight alliance between the executive and legislative branches in a Republican-led Washington extends to their policy priorities. Trump appears to have lost interest in most of the GOP agenda and has become almost singularly focused on his voting legislation to require proof of citizenship, which has almost no chance of passing. At the same time, he has asked members of Congress to fund parts of his White House ballroom project, allow a temporary intelligence director that none of them like and cede their powers on the Iran war. The growing rift has brought much of the Senate's business to a halt and put Republicans who are up for reelection this year on the defensive. It has also put pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has been