Following the Republican-controlled Senate’s rebuke of his tariffs, President Donald Trump appears to be losing leverage in trying to get some Senate GOP detractors to comply with his agenda.
On Tuesday, Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) joined Democrats in opposing Trump’s national emergency declaration to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports. The tariff was meant as a response to Brazil’s trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of Trump.
The president has frequently criticized Republican lawmakers who oppose his policies, including Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), whom he is trying to unseat in the 2026 midterm elections by naming retired Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein as his choice for the congressman’s primary opponent.
Trump tried the same tactic with Tillis, threatening to back his primary challenger over the summer. But the senator undercut the president’s threat by announcing his retirement. Tillis is set to leave the Senate in January 2027.
Taking the same path as Tillis, McConnell is not seeking reelection next year as concerns over his age mount following multiple health scares. In the latest incident, the 83-year-old senator fell on the Congress floor earlier this month while being questioned by activists.
Meanwhile, Paul and Murkowski are up for reelection in 2028 if they forgo retirement.
Of the five Republicans consistently defying Trump, Collins is the only one seeking another term next year. The five-term senator’s most notable opponents are term-limited Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME), who entered the Senate race this month, and political newcomer Graham Platner, whose Democratic campaign is presently undermined by several controversies in recent weeks.
Collins’s challengers on the Republican side, Carmen Calabrese and Daniel Smeriglio, are less well-known than Mills. They will likely vie for Trump’s endorsement as much as the GOP nomination.
While Trump’s primary threats don’t affect most of the five Republican senators, that doesn’t stop him from publicly criticizing them.
Paul, in particular, has drawn Trump’s ire over his votes with Democrats against the Republican-backed “clean” continuing resolution amid the government shutdown. In a joking manner, Trump poked fun at Paul’s consistent opposition to him.
SENATE REBUKES TRUMP WITH TARIFF VOTE DESPITE JD VANCE’S WARNING
“We’re just missing one person. You’ll never guess who that is,” Trump said at a White House Rose Garden lunch in front of Republican senators last week, referring to the Kentucky fiscal hawk. “He automatically votes no on everything.”
Not too bothered by not receiving an invitation to the White House event, Paul instead dined with Massie during a private Liberty Caucus lunch that day.
