Trump's grasp on GOP slips as nervous Republicans privately take on White House: report
White House insiders said this week that President Donald Trump and his closest allies are in turmoil trying to keep House Republicans from jumping ship — and it's not working.
People familiar with closed-door conversations told the Wall Street Journal in a report published late Friday that Republican lawmakers, coalition leaders, and even some of Trump's own friends are privately telling the White House that his mass deportation policies are too extreme and need to be immediately scaled back. Sources said GOP members are growing increasingly nervous about the political fallout heading into midterms.
"The White House is hearing from Republican lawmakers eager for a legislative fix to immigration rules, according to two people familiar with the matter," the report said.
The revelations painted a picture of a fractured Republican party struggling to maintain unity. Anonymous sources claimed Stephen Miller, Trump's hardline deputy White House chief of staff, personally defended the administration's aggressive tactics during a contentious closed-door meeting with centrist Republicans who gave him an "earful," even doubling down by saying deportations aren't happening fast enough.
Republicans at the secret meeting expressed alarm that the harsh approach would devastate key industries like hospitality, agriculture, and construction while tanking their election prospects.
And the cracks run deeper.
The White House is hearing from desperate GOP lawmakers openly challenging the administration's Department of Homeland Security leadership. Inside conversations reveal frustration with Trump's gun control rhetoric, delays on abortion priorities, and his investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell