Republicans had a rough Tuesday in Washington, D.C., and Nevada, with a string of embarrassments and setbacks that can be linked to the party’s de facto leader — former President Donald Trump.
With blunders from Congress to the Silver State on Tuesday, here is a look at the rocky 24 hours Republicans faced and how they link to Trump.
Senate GOP tanks border bill
Only days after the Senate border bill’s text was released, the proposal is dead after several Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives spoke out against the bill.
The bill triggered disagreement within the Republican Party, with Trump opposing the bill and rallying other Republicans to oppose it as well. Trump said the bill would be a “gift” to Democrats in an election year and later called it a “death wish” for Republicans in a Truth Social post. Other Republicans openly disagreed. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) called it “immoral” not to pass legislation because of the political strategy of the former president.
The bill came after months of negotiations by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), James Lankford (R-OK), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ). Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who has routinely been at odds with Trump, had urged his colleagues to take action on this matter, but Senate GOP leadership abandoned the bill on Tuesday after significant backlash. Several allies of Trump were key figures in sinking the proposal and celebrated the apparent defeat of the bill on Tuesday.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), a fierce Trump ally, blasted Republican leadership, saying leadership is “massively out of touch.”
“Leadership really screwed this up. I think they made a series of political arguments that were never going to actually fly,” Vance said on Tuesday. “Certainly, on the Ukraine question, I think leadership is massively out of touch with the Republican voters.”
McConnell has deflected calls for a change in Republican leadership in the Senate despite vocal opposition from party members, including Trump.
House Republicans fail to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
Meanwhile in the House of Representatives, Republicans failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The vote failed by 214-216, with four Republicans voting against the resolution. One of the four “nay” votes was for procedural reasons — to allow for the resolution to be considered again.
The three Republicans who opposed the articles of impeachment said that while Mayorkas was doing a poor job securing the border, policy disagreements do not amount to an impeachable offense. The top House Republicans in favor of impeaching Mayorkas, including fierce Trump supporter Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), have vowed to try impeachment against Mayorkas again.
The articles of impeachment were proposed against Mayorkas due to the enforcement, or alleged lack of enforcement, of border laws, a chief campaign matter for Trump. The former president has also supported and worked with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), endorsing him for the speakership in October.
Nikki Haley loses to “none of these candidates” in Nevada
The final embarrassment for a Republican on Tuesday came in Nevada for Trump’s chief primary rival, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
Haley was the only active candidate on the ballot in the GOP presidential primary in the Silver State due to the state Republican Party opting to host its own caucuses to decide delegates, but she lost to the “none of these candidates” option in an embarrassing defeat. The Republicans’ confusing caucus and primary setup led to a near-complete desertion of Nevada by the 2024 Republican candidates.
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The Haley campaign poured few resources into Nevada, hedging its bets on the primary in South Carolina and Super Tuesday, but the loss was the first time a presidential candidate lost to the option since it was created in 1975.
Trump is expected to win the caucuses in the state on Thursday, as he is the only active candidate appearing as an option for Republican voters in Nevada.
