President Donald Trump notched more wins Tuesday in his revenge campaign against Republican lawmakers whoâve crossed him. But his victory lap may be short-lived.
In another stunning display of the presidentâs electoral power, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie lost his primary Tuesday night to Trumpâs favored candidate, just days after the presidentâs sway knocked Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy out of his reelection race.
Trump on Tuesday also officially put Texas incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in his crosshairs by endorsing his primary challenger, scandal-plagued Ken Paxton, ahead of next weekâs run-off in that state.
But several congressional Republicans are worried the presidentâs payback whims will cost the party control of the Texas seat as the GOP fights to retain the Senate. And some Republicans may be more willing to gum up Trumpâs agenda after watching their colleagues, or themselves, get picked off by his hardball tactics.
â TEXAS IN TROUBLE: Trumpâs long-awaited announcement backing Paxton over establishment Republicansâ preferred pick of Cornyn was met with shock and dismay among Republicans on Capitol Hill. Many of them now fear that keeping that Texas seat will be a more expensive and potentially futile endeavor.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she was âsupremely disappointedâ by Trumpâs decision, which she said âputs that seat in jeopardy.â
Democrats quickly seized on Paxtonâs likely nomination to say the party has a chance to win a Texas Senate race for the first time since 1988.
Rep. Ro Khanna told POLITICO matching up Democratic nominee James Talarico with Paxton would create a âperfect stormâ for Democrats, who already saw an opening given Talaricoâs relatively broad appeal, massive fundraising haul and the political headwinds Republicans face.
â A DEFIANT CASSIDY: Trumpâs primary retribution may also embolden lawmakers facing his wrath to hand the favor back to him.
Since losing his primary to Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming, Cassidy has both publicly opposed funding in the GOP-only reconciliation bill for Trumpâs ballroom project and voted to rein in the U.S. military conflict in Iran (more on that below).
Murkowski said the presidentâs campaign against incumbents is âunprecedented.â
âEven though Bill Cassidy lost his primary, he is still a voting member of the Senate until January,â Murkowski said. âThere are still many, many weeks â many months â to go before the election. And this president is going to have to continue to deal â and work with and partner with or battle with â this group of lawmakers.â
âMaybe he doesnât think he needs us. But I donât know, last time I checked, the laws donât just appear before his desk to sign. The funding just doesnât come,â Murkowski added.
Also Read: Donald Trumpâs GOP revenge tour is complete
What else weâre watching:
â TRUMP’S BALLROOM FUNDING SUPPORT WANES: A critical mass of Senate Republicans are publicly objecting to spending taxpayer money on a White House ballroom project. Sens. Cassidy, Murkowski, Thom Tillis and Susan Collins have all raised concerns about the ballroom security funding, possibly enough to eject the provision from the GOPâs fast-moving immigration enforcement bill. And several senators are privately opposed, according to five people granted anonymity to disclose private deliberations.
â SENATE WAR POWERS VOTE DEALS BLOW TO TRUMP: Senators voted Tuesday to advance legislation to rein in Trumpâs military action in Iran, handing a surprise victory to Democrats. The legislation will need to clear several more steps before it can pass, giving Republicans opportunities to kill the measure in the coming days. But Democrats picked up another GOP defector in Cassidy, who supported the move to limit Trumpâs power just days after the presidentâs efforts sunk his reelection campaign.
Liz Crampton, Andrew Howard, Connor O’Brien and Jordain Carney contributed to this report.