Trump targets Republican dissenters

President Donald Trump entered the final week before Memorial Day with a string of victories over Republicans who had crossed him, including Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. The defeats added to a broader effort by Trump and his allies to push dissenters out of the party’s ranks ahead of the 2026 midterms. At the same time, a separate fight in Congress over a proposed $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund showed that resistance to Trump inside the party has not disappeared. Senate Republicans delayed action on a major immigration spending bill rather than force a vote with the fund still attached. ### How did Thomas Massie become the clearest target? Thomas Massie lost the Republican primary in Kentucky’s 4th District on May 19 after Trump backed former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein against him. Politico reported that Trump’s allies and pro-Israel groups spent about $16 million in the race, which became the most expensive House primary on record. Massie had drawn Trump’s anger by opposing parts of the president’s domestic spending agenda, criticizing U.S. intervention in Iran and working with Democrats on efforts to force the release of Jeffrey Epstein files, according to Politico and CNBC. In the final stretch, Trump called Massie “the worst Congressman” in posts and videos urging Kentucky Republicans to vote him out. ### Which other Republicans have been hit? (politico.com) Bill Cassidy’s reelection bid in Louisiana ended earlier in May after pressure from Trump-aligned forces, and Brad Raffensperger failed to advance in Georgia’s Republican primary for governor on May 19. Politico described those losses, along with defeats for Indiana state lawmakers who had opposed Trump’s redistricting push, as part of a monthlong retribution campaign. (politico.com) Josh McKoon, the chair of the Georgia Republican Party, told Politico that “the most valuable asset or currency in Republican primaries” was Trump’s endorsement. Trey Grayson, a former Kentucky secretary of state who stayed neutral in Massie’s race, said Trump had again shown his power inside the GOP. ### Where is the resistance now showing up? Washington became the next test when Republican senators balked at Trump’s proposed “anti-weaponization” fund, which Reuters reported was set at $1.776 billion. (politico.com) The fund, backed by the Justice Department, was intended for people Trump said had been harmed by government “weaponization.” Senate Republicans on May 21 put off a planned vote on a $72 billion immigration enforcement package after objections to the fund, according to Reuters, NBC News and Roll Call. (politico.com) NBC reported GOP leaders postponed the vote until June, after the Memorial Day recess. ### Who is pushing back on the fund? Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, went to Capitol Hill to lobby Republicans for the proposal, according to CNN and Forbes. (usnews.com) But resistance spread across the conference, with some senators demanding the fund be scrapped or tightly limited before they would move the broader bill. Politico reported that Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican, joined Democrat Tom Suozzi in a bipartisan House effort to kill the fund. (usnews.com) Reuters said the dispute had set up a direct confrontation between Trump and congressional Republicans less than six months before the midterm elections. ### What does this mean for Trump’s grip on the party? Stephen Cheung, the White House communications director, wrote after the May 19 primary results that Republicans should not “ever doubt President Trump and his political power,” according to Politico. (forbes.com) The recent primary results support that claim in direct-election contests, where Trump’s endorsement has remained a decisive force. Congress, however, has shown a different limit. (politico.com) Reuters reported that Senate Republicans were willing to delay one of Trump’s priority spending bills rather than accept the fund as written, creating an immediate legislative problem even after Trump’s run of primary victories. Early June is the next test. Senate Republicans are expected to return from the Memorial Day recess and revisit the immigration package, while House and Senate lawmakers decide whether the “anti-weaponization” fund survives, is narrowed or is dropped altogether. (politico.com) (nbcnews.com) (usnews.com)