By Lindsay Wise, Ken Thomas and Marianne LeVine

WASHINGTON -- President Trump's retribution campaign is fracturing support for his priorities in the Senate, where anger is mounting among Republicans over his latest moves to punish GOP critics and reward allies headed into what is expected to be a difficult midterm election for their party.

The growing frustration with Trump could endanger Republicans' legislative agenda, which relies primarily on their ability to stick together on party-line votes, from immigration-enforcement funding to a gas-tax holiday to tens of billions of dollars for the U.S. war in Iran. It could also weigh on their chances for holding on to their majorities in the House and Senate.

"I think it goes back to the old, 'Be careful what you wish for,'" quipped Sen. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.), who is retiring after Trump made clear he wanted him gone. On votes, he said, "I think there will be fewer political calculations going into people's decision-making process."

The split centers on Trump's efforts to oust sitting Republican members of Congress, topped off by his endorsement Tuesday of a challenger to Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas) that stunned many colleagues.

In a clear sign of the tensions, Senate Republicans said Wednesday that they didn't have the votes to preserve $1 billion in funding tied to Trump's planned White House ballroom, part of a critical package that would fund immigration enforcement. Republicans, who have a 53-47 edge in the Senate, are aiming to pass $70 billion in multiyear funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol by the end of the month.

"I'm told the votes are not there," said Sen. John Kennedy (R., La.). Asked whether Trump has antagonized some Republican senators with his aggressive efforts to oust them or their colleagues in primaries, Kennedy said "a fair-minded person would say the circumstance you described sure isn't making it easier."

Some Republicans have balked at the idea of using taxpayer dollars for anything tied to Trump's ballroom project at a time when many Americans are grappling with high prices for gas and other daily essentials, several months into the Iran war. A number of GOP lawmakers have also raised concerns about Trump's recent deal to create a government fund that could benefit allies and end audits of his taxes.

The 'YOLO caucus'

The fights show the risks of Trump's payback campaign. While the president has made clear he can make or break the career of any Republican, he is also creating a class of vanquished lawmakers still in office. Republicans and aides on Capitol Hill have begun referring to a new "YOLO caucus" of outgoing senators who have little left to lose in bucking Trump.

The pushback on the ballroom came a day after Trump stunned Republicans by endorsing state Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race, saying Cornyn wasn't sufficiently loyal. Republican senators said the decision to endorse the scandal-plagued Paxton in the Republican primary could weaken them in the midterms.

Trump played down GOP senators' concerns. "They'll be all right with it, " Trump said Wednesday. "Some of them don't know how to win. I know how to win. I think I've proven that, haven't I?"

In a weekend primary, Trump successfully ended the career of Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.). And on Tuesday, Trump felled his biggest GOP irritant in Congress: Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

This week, Cassidy for the first time voted with Democrats to advance a war-powers resolution designed to rein in U.S. military action in Iran. He also said that he opposes the ballroom funding.

"There's always a consequence associated with, you know, taking on incumbent United States senators," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.), who sighed when asked if Trump's "revenge tour" risked diminishing support for the party's legislation.

"What we have to deal with up here is moving the agenda, and you know, obviously that can become slightly more complicated," Thune said.

A White House official dismissed the idea that Trump's legislative agenda would slow down amid Republican frustration or that the Paxton endorsement would have an impact on the midterms. The official said the president's agenda is the agenda voters want and that it was in the Senate's interest to work with the White House.

Some Republican aides viewed Trump's decision to endorse Paxton over Cornyn as a sign of his broader frustration with the Senate.

Trump has taken other steps that make Republicans uncomfortable. On Monday, the federal government agreed to create a $1.8 billion fund to compensate people who claim to have been victims of so-called weaponization by the government. Trump's agreement with the federal government expanded Tuesday to end all pending tax audits of him and his businesses.

Thune said this week that he was "not a big fan" of the settlement fund. Cassidy bashed the idea, saying it was without legal precedent. Other Republican senators have said the administration needs to answer questions about it.

In the House, Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania called the settlement fund "bad news" and said he was working with other lawmakers to push back. "We're going to try to kill it," said Fitzpatrick, who is running for re-election in a district Trump lost in 2024.

'Burn-it-down mode'

Marc Short, a former White House director of legislative affairs during Trump's first term, said in light of the Senate dynamics, he expected that "things pretty much come to a halt now" and little of significance would get passed until after the election.

"What is unclear to me is whether Trump cares," Short said. "I think he's still in a burn-it-down mode. I don't think they're going to know the true cost of this until November."

The news on the ballroom came several days after the Senate's parliamentarian found that the $1 billion measure doesn't qualify for a special process that allows measures to pass with a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes typically required under the chamber's filibuster rule. Republicans indicated they plan to revise the wording, but by Wednesday it was clear GOP senators thought they didn't have 50 votes either.

Trump lashed out at the parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, and suggested she be ousted, while also calling again for the Senate to end the 60-vote rule altogether. The rule has blocked Republicans from passing the Save America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

Kennedy, however, said MacDonough wasn't to blame. "This one is not the parliamentarian's fault...it's the votes aren't there, plainly and simply," the senator said.

Trump and allies have maintained that the ballroom -- which had drawn opposition from Democrats over its planned size and the lack of congressional consultation -- is being funded by private donors supplemented by needed security enhancements.

About $200 million of the $1 billion total would be designated for the "East Wing modernization project," including above- and below-ground "hardening" of the ballroom, according to a cost breakdown shared with Republicans senators. The rest would go toward training, visitor-screening facilities and other Secret Service priorities.

Write to Lindsay Wise at lindsay.wise@wsj.com, Ken Thomas at ken.thomas@wsj.com and Marianne LeVine at marianne.levine@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 20, 2026 17:39 ET (21:39 GMT)

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