Donald Trump’s grip on congressional Republicans is slipping.
A series of rebukes on the Hill Thursday highlighted how rank-and-file Republicans are starting to move with less regard for the president heading into the midterms.
Here’s what comes next on three fronts:
— Bringing back ACA credits: Seventeen House Republicans broke ranks to support a clean three-year restoration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that expired last month. The bigger-than-anticipated revolt showed how politically dangerous skyrocketing insurance premiums could be.
The bill is expected to die in the Senate, as Majority Leader John Thune has no plans to bring it up for a vote.
But the Republican proponents hope the strong bipartisan support pushes the Senate to produce its own ACA solution. Senators are considering a plan that would reestablish the credits for two years with reforms. Text could come as soon as Tuesday, per Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), as lawmakers race to get a deal over the finish line before open enrollment ends Jan. 15 in most states.
— Limiting Trump’s war powers: The Senate gave one of its strongest admonishments of the president Thursday when five Republicans helped advance a measure to constrain Trump’s military action abroad. An outraged president took to social media to say they “should never be elected to office again.”
The measure now heads to a final Senate vote next week. But it would still need to pass the House, which could prove more challenging. If Thursday’s failed veto override votes were any indication, House Republicans are less willing to break with the administration than their Senate counterparts.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told POLITICO he was “inclined” to support the war powers resolution after this week’s briefings on the Venezuela operation, but that Trump’s Thursday attack was a tipping point.
“Reading the ugly response to those senators sort of convinced me to vote yes,” he said.
The House may soon vote on its own war powers measure from Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.).
— Installing the Jan. 6 plaque: The Senate voted Thursday to unanimously approve a measure, led by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), to install a plaque in the Capitol honoring the officers who protected it on Jan. 6, 2021.
The stark moment of bipartisanship was a significant rebuke of Speaker Mike Johnson and the Trump DOJ, which argues the plaque — which has been made but not installed — does not comply with a 2022 law mandating its display because it lists the departments that responded, not individual officers.
The resolution does not need House approval, but it does put pressure on Johnson. It’s unclear when the Senate will install the plaque, which will remain in the chamber until a permanent location is identified on the west front of the Capitol.
What else we’re watching:
— Thune’s border trip: Thune is leading a trip to the border in Texas Friday with several GOP senators and Senate hopefuls to sell the “big, beautiful bill” Republicans passed last summer.
— Funding progress: Appropriators hope to release bill text Sunday night of the next spending package they want to pass before the month-end funding cliff. It’s expected to include the State-Foreign Operations, Financial Services and Homeland Security bills, though the DHS portion is in flux after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis.
Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney, Nicholas Wu, Lisa Kashinsky, Simon J. Levien, Hailey Fuchs and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.
