President Trump’s legislative priorities for the remainder of the year are hanging by a thread, according to Senate Republican sources. A budget reconciliation package designed to fund immigration enforcement operations through 2029 is in serious doubt after a heated confrontation last week between GOP senators and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Republican senators say Trump has no realistic path to secure taxpayer money for constructing the White House ballroom. They warn that the president will likely need to scrap or drastically overhaul his proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund if the stalled budget package has any chance of passing before the midterm election.
Senate sources point to four GOP senators whom Trump has alienated—Thom Tillis (N.C.), Bill Cassidy (La.), John Cornyn (Texas), and Rand Paul (Ky.)—who could block progress on the president’s agenda for the rest of the year.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said on his podcast, “Verdict with Ted Cruz,” that the administration faces an uphill battle moving its agenda through Congress. “We have a 53-47 majority, if you lose four senators, you’re below 50 and you can’t get anything done,” Cruz said. “That is going to be a complicating factor for the rest of the year.” He added, “Those four senators, I don’t envision suddenly anything becoming hunky dory and they’re being happy. That dynamic for 2026, the rest of the year, we’re going to have interesting challenges.”
With a 53-seat majority, Senate Republicans also contend with moderates like Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who have a history of breaking with party leadership on major votes. A senior GOP aide described the administration’s approach as counterproductive: “The administration is creating issues everywhere by pissing off these senators, it’s really a bad strategy.”
Senate Republicans feel under siege from Trump and the White House, frustrated by what they see as a lack of communication and respect from the executive branch, according to GOP sources familiar with conference dynamics. Even Trump’s staunch allies, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), pushed back over the Memorial Day weekend on a potential peace deal with Iran that Trump claimed was “largely negotiated.” Graham warned on X that if a deal leaves Iran able to threaten Gulf oil infrastructure, “Iran will be perceived as being a dominate force requiring a diplomatic solution.” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chair of the Armed Services Committee, called a rumored 60-day ceasefire “a disaster.”
One Republican senator, speaking anonymously, said colleagues are exhausted by being put in tough political spots by Trump during an election year when the party faces strong headwinds. The administration’s proposal for a $1.8 billion fund to compensate people prosecuted by the Biden-era Justice Department is seen as the latest unpopular idea that senators would have to defend. “People are tired, they feel they’re under siege and the White House is very, very difficult to work with,” the senator said. “They treat people badly. You can do that for a short period of time but over time it’s corrosive.”
Roughly half the GOP senators who met with Blanche vented frustrations over the compensation fund and other issues, including Trump’s slipping approval ratings, which could hurt Republican candidates in November. Republican senators and aides warn that the budget reconciliation package—with nearly $70 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol—may be dead unless the administration drops or drastically revises the weaponization fund. One source said both Senate and House Republicans expect to hear backlash from constituents during the Memorial Day recess.
Trump’s endorsements of primary challengers to Sens. Cassidy and Cornyn have exacerbated tensions. Cassidy came in third in Louisiana’s Senate Republican primary after Trump backed Rep. Julie Letlow, missing the June 27 runoff. Cornyn is now considered an underdog in Tuesday’s Texas Senate Republican primary runoff after Trump endorsed state Attorney General Ken Paxton, despite Paxton’s prior felony securities fraud charge. Cornyn faces an uphill battle in the Texas runoff as Paxton surges with Trump's backing. Trump's vendettas threaten the GOP Senate majority as primary fights backfire.
