As Donald Trump took an aggressive stance on the global stage at the United Nations on Tuesday, several Senate Republicans were breaking from the president back in Washington.
The GOP backlash, which has been simmering below the surface throughout Trump's second term as lawmakers privately grumbled he hasn't focused enough on affordability issues, burst into public view as a rapid succession of Republicans challenged Trump on everything from the Iran war to the president's "lavish" summit this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Republicans have long been loathe to openly criticize the president, who has wielded an uncommonly strong hold over his party and retains long memories about who has crossed him. Back in May, eight Indiana state lawmakers who defied Trump on a redistricting plan faced their primary voters, and only two won. The president that month similarly ended Texas Senator John Cornyn's political career by backing Ken Paxton's primary challenge instead.
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So confident is the president of his singular electoral magnetism that his rallying cry at campaign events from Texas to North Carolina has been to call on his supporters to vote as if he's on the ballot in November.
Yet those same Republican lawmakers who held tight with Trump through the primaries are now facing a general election environment and a very different electorate. They now have to contend not just with GOP voters, but Democrats who've always opposed the president, as well as disaffected independents who've drifted from Trump over economic concerns.
Retail gasoline prices are up. So is diesel. The cost of financing government debt has risen since the Iran war began, driving up the cost of mortgages, credit cards and consumer debt. And a confident White House that has unapologetically pursued all of its priorities at once, from tariffs to getting Trump's name on the Kennedy Center, is increasingly seen as unfocused on the costs Americans pay to go about their daily lives.
Trump's reservoir of support began to crack last week, when Florida Republican Maria Elvira Salazar cut a video telling Trump that his immigration crackdowns have gone "too far," as she battles to retain her House seat in a Miami-area district heavily impacted by the administration's deportation policies.
Now, fractures within the party have widened into open rifts as Trump's popularity sinks to new polling lows, just six weeks until US midterm elections. And the cascade of crucial GOP voices challenging the president on Monday and Tuesday is unlike anything Trump has experienced in his second term in office.
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Here's a look at what happened:
Iran War
Two Senate Republican hopefuls - Representative Ashley Hinson of Iowa and Mike Rogers of Michigan - called on Trump on Monday to end the war in Iran, which has sent gasoline prices soaring.
| "The war with Iran needs to end, and end quickly," Rogers, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a video on Monday. Sitting GOP senators could follow suit later this week when the chamber votes again on an Iran war powers resolution. North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who is retiring, is expected to vote with Democrats to end the war. Others could follow suit. "We all want it to come to an end," Ohio Republican Senator Jon Husted, who is in a tough race, said at the Capitol on Tuesday night. He demurred when asked how he'd vote on the war powers resolution. Trump reiterated Tuesday he doesn't take the election into account when contemplating a deal with Iran. Mounting pressure from within his own party could add a new variable to the political calculus. Fuel PricesAs a sign of the sting candidates' are feeling from the petroleum price spikes associated with Trump's decision to attack Iran alongside Israel, several Republican lawmakers called for drastic measures to reduce the cost of fuel. Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan, one of the GOP's most endangered incumbents, on Tuesday joined a growing number of Republicans calling for a ban on diesel exports. "The cost of diesel is just too damn high," Sullivan said. Alaska relies heavily on diesel and closely related heating oil. Many remote communities depend on diesel generators for electricity. The climate is harsh, freight moves over long distances and per-capita usage of diesel and home heating oil is more than four times the national average. Hinson also joined the chorus, calling on Trump to pause diesel exports and suspend the gas tax. US retail diesel prices have climbed above $6.50 a gallon for the first time, hammering farmers across the Grain Belt as they prepare for harvest and truckers across the country. Soon after, Trump said he's encouraged his advisers to support a ban on US diesel exports, with wars in Iran and Ukraine driving the fuel's price to record levels. But Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright have argued against an export ban, with Wright emphasizing the US is focused on growing supply rather than curtailing foreign sales. Home Heating OilSenator Susan Collins called on Trump to release supply from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve to combat rising costs . Collins, the only Senate Republican up for reelection in a state Trump lost in 2024, represents Maine, where heating oil prices have increased by 74% as of last week compared to the same time last year, according to the state's Department of Energy Resources. The embattled senator joined fellow Maine Senator Angus King, an independent who votes with Democrats, in a Tuesday letter to Trump. "We write to request that you release home heating oil from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve to protect Mainers from the very high prices that are imposing a difficult financial burden," they wrote. Wedding BlowbackThe criticism has also started to spread beyond economic and policy issues. Utah Senator John Curtis called for an investigation into the Trump family's financial dealings - including demanding testimony from Donald Trump Jr., the president's son.
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