Trump’s early endorsements reveal the Republican Party’s rift

Old President TrumpDonald TrumpGaetz was denied meeting with Trump: CNN Federal Reserve Chairman: The economy would have been “much worse” without COVID-19 relief bills California City Police declare an assembly il · Legal in the midst of the “white life” protest MORErecent approvals from Sens. Ron JohnsonRonald (Ron) Harold Johnson The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden storms the “epidemic” of gun violence amid gunfire in SC, Texas. Trump faces power test with first endorsements Trump backs Rand Paul for re-election MORE (R-Wis), Rand PaulRandal (Rand) Howard PaulAlarm grows by the impact of states banning trans youth treatment. Hill’s Report 12:30 – Presented by ExxonMobil – The world mourns the death of Prince Philip The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden storms the “epidemic” of armed violence amid SC, Texas shootings MORE (R-Ky.) I marc RubioMarco Antonio RubioNote: Biden’s top five foreign policy challenges Hillicon Valley: Amazon wins union election – says “our employees chose” Night Defense: Biden Proposes 3B Defense Budget | Criticism comes from the left and the right | The Pentagon is moving toward a new projection of MORE extremists (R-Fla.) They expose a rift between Republicans who want to leave the Trump era behind and those who see their populist brand of conservatism as a winning formula.

By dropping a series of Senate approvals nearly 20 months before election day, Trump inserts himself into the internal debate among Republican lawmakers about where they want to go as a party and what relationship they want to work with. President BidenJoe Biden: Federal Reserve Chairman: The economy would have been “much worse” without COVID-19 relief laws. Biden will meet Monday with bipartisan lawmakers on infrastructure. Jill Biden shouts at Champ, the biggest national day of MORE pets.

It also sends signals to allies that it can protect them from major challenges next year, a potentially strong incentive for fellow Republicans not to rule out their legacy.

“It’s a big preventative thing to scare off potential challengers,” said Jim McLaughlin, a Republican strategist, who noted that Trump has a “very good relationship” with Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.), Head of the Senate government. campaign arm.

McLaughlin said Trump’s growing interest in the early machinations of the 2022 election cycle will send a similar message to Republicans who “need to fight” Biden’s agenda, which aims, in large part, to dismantle Biden’s policies. the previous administration.

Some Republican Party senators, such as Sens. Susan CollinsSusan Margaret Collins: The Hill’s Morning Report: Biden storms the “epidemic” of gun violence amid gunfire in SC, Texas. Biden-GOP infrastructure talks about a rocky start Moderate GOP senators and Biden clash at the start of the infrastructure debate MORE (Maine), Lisa MurkowskiLisa Ann MurkowskiTrump Rises on GOP Donor Withdrawal in Florida The GOP super PAC supports Murkowski amid the main threat that the Biden-GOP infrastructure talks about starting rocky MORE (Alaska) i Mitt RomneyWillard (Mitt) Mitt Romney Two Sheriff’s deputies shot by a gunman in Utah Romney kicks off the end of the filibuster, the expansion of SCOTUS In Utah’s public land management, Biden should follow a responsible legislative process MORE (Utah), they say they want to work with Biden. They were part of a group that met with the president in early February to explore a coronavirus relief package. But Biden quickly rejected his proposal for being insufficient.

In the end, not a single Republican in Congress voted on Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion American bailout plan.

Some Republican lawmakers see Trump’s departure from the White House as an opportunity to break with certain policies that were generally unpopular at the Republican Party Senate conference. Among them was Trump’s focus on trade and foreign policy.

Republican lawmakers have yet to decide whether they want to give up Trump’s trade and tariff practices, and Biden keeps them for now.

As for foreign policy, there has not been too much retreat from the Republican Party Senate conference on Biden’s decision to repair fences with NATO allies. The president firmly reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to NATO in February by declaring, “An attack on one is an attack on all. This is our unwavering vote.”

But for other Republicans, support outside of Trump’s office is fueled to boost their own careers and expand the Republican Party base among working-class voters. GOP strategists point out that Johnson, Paul and Rubio wanted Trump’s endorsement.

His. Josh HawleyJoshua (Josh) David Hawley McConnell in a complicated place with GOP, autobiography of Big Biz Pence from Simon & Schuster The Hill’s Morning Report: Biden’s infrastructure plan triggers a debate on the definition of MORE (R-Mo.) He is one of the few Republican senators who has embraced Trump’s populism and sees it as the future of the party.

Hawley says he will unveil “an agenda for trust [the] 21st Century ”this week focused on awakened giant companies [that] continues to tell Biden’s big lie about Georgia. “

This agenda is not good for all conservatives.

“I agree with the sentiments until I advocate a policy that is anti-market free,” said GOP strategist Brian Darling. “The only thing Republicans have to resist more than anything is the urgency of using antitrust laws to attack those corporations with whom they disagree.”

Hawley also broke with much of the GOP conference last year by approving $ 2,000 stimulus controls in what became a $ 900 billion commitment measure passed by Congress in December. Trump also favored sending $ 2,000 checks, but many Republicans were insensitive to the idea.

At the other end of the spectrum is Murkowski, who wants the Republican Party to be the “big store” party that was under President Reagan again.

“If the Republican party is still Trump’s party, I’m not quite sure where to fit in,” he said in January.

It gained momentum on Friday when the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC linked to the Senate minority leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch), Mitchell McConnellBiden, will meet Monday with bipartisan lawmakers on infrastructure. 100 business executives debate how to fight new voting rules: Arkansas governor says Trump attacks on GOP officials are “useless” MORE (R-Ky.), Approved her for re-election in 2022.

“Alaska needs the kind of experienced representation that Lisa Murkowski provides to the U.S. Senate,” said the group’s chairman, Steven Law, who was previously McConnell’s chief of staff.

McConnell has broken with Trump since he lost to Biden. The Republican Party leader stopped talking to the president in mid-December and in February denounced his role in inciting a crowd of supporters to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6 while lawmakers had the Electoral College vote. .

Trump has been relatively quiet since Twitter was banned in early January. But he has made his presence felt in Republican politics in recent days with a series of statements and endorsements from his post-presidential office and his PAC Save America.

The PAC has built a $ 85 million war chest to bolster Trump’s most loyal allies, a reminder to fellow Republicans that he intends to remain a political force.

Last week he supported Johnson, Paul and Rubio, three of his most loyal allies in the Senate, who are set to be re-elected next year. Johnson, who led an investigation into Hunter Biden’s work for a Ukrainian energy company – a favorite topic of Trump’s – has not yet announced whether he will seek a third term.

Johnson urged “Run, Ron, run!” although Democrats think they might be more likely to win the seat if he is the Republican Party candidate.

“I hope you run. It facilitates the gathering of Democrats. It’s been so radical and outrageous on so many issues recently that I think Democrats can catch them more easily if it’s there, ”said Ben Nuckels, a Democratic strategist who helped the Wisconsin governor. Tony EversTony EversBiden rescinds Trump-approved Medicaid work requirements in Michigan, Wisconsin, the Wisconsin governor declares a state of emergency over wildfires. Wisconsin demands more than $ 0.000 in legal fees incurred for GOP MORE election demands (D) win in 2018.

Brandon Scholz, a Wisconsin-based Republican strategist, predicted that Democrats will repeat the Trump-focused tactics and rhetoric they deployed in 2020.

He said Trump’s approval “will certainly work for Democrats trying to create the same campaign they presented against Donald Trump in the presidential race against Ron Johnson.”

Democrats did not run a problem-based campaign against Trump in Wisconsin, Scholz said, but directed one focused on his character and behavior.

“They hated Donald Trump: that’s what the campaign was about,” he said. “My point is they’re trying to recreate this campaign.”