Defiant Republicans rally behind Trump critic Thom Tillis, who slams proposal as ‘stupid on stilts’ and a ‘payout for punks’

(SeaPRwire) –   The day finally came when the Senate simply said, No.

This week, Donald Trump’s political revenge tour may have met its match as frustrated, angry Republican senators—pushed to a breaking point by his seemingly insatiable and extreme demands, particularly a $1.776 billion fund for Jan. 6 rioters and others he believes were wrongly prosecuted—did the unthinkable.

They just refused, wrapped up their work, and went home.

The moment was as rare as it was bold: a sudden show of strength from a Congress that has become a shadow of its former self as a coequal branch, where the Republican majority has almost always chosen to accommodate the Republican president rather than confront him.

For now, this left the GOP’s top priority—passing a roughly $70 billion budget package to fund Trump’s immigration and deportation operations for the remainder of his term, through 2029—in disarray. Voting was postponed until Congress reconvenes next month, missing Trump’s June 1 deadline to have the bill on his desk.

When asked during an Oval Office event if he was losing control of the Senate, Trump shrugged.

“I really don’t know,” the president said.

This caps off a bruising week after the president swept midterm primary elections, taking down one Republican incumbent after another—Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana, Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky, and endorsing the challenger to Sen. John Cornyn in Texas—turning the power of his Make America Great Again movement against those who stuck to their own views instead of yielding to his.

And it wasn’t just the Senate. In the Republican-led House, for the first time this year, enough GOP lawmakers broke ranks to signal support for a Democratic war powers resolution designed to halt Trump’s military action in Iran. House Speaker Mike Johnson postponed voting until he could ensure an outcome that avoids confronting the president.

The outcome leaves Trump and the party exposed in new ways.

While the president’s handpicked candidates are winning, many are untested heading into this fall’s general elections. Trump’s own approval rating is at a low point, and he is spending his political capital, alienating potential allies and threatening to derail GOP priorities as they try to persuade voters to keep them in office.

Senate Anger Over Trump’s ‘Payout for Punks’

Trump’s announcement of a nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund for those he believes were wrongly prosecuted came with little warning and even less support, blindsiding senators already fuming over his push for $1 billion to secure his new White House ballroom.

The audacity of the arrangement—Trump negotiating a settlement to his own lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service that would set up the compensation fund for those perceived to be wrongly prosecuted—proved too toxic for the Senate to bear.

“Under what circumstances would it ever make sense to provide restitution for people who were either pled guilty or were found guilty in a court of law?” steamed Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

Tillis derided the White House move as “stupid on stilts” and a “payout for punks.” Trump fired back Friday morning, accusing Tillis of “screwing the Republican Party” in a lengthy social media post.

GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former majority leader who tends to keep his own counsel, issued a statement in the aftermath.

“So the nation’s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong — Take your pick,” McConnell said.

The political calculations were becoming clear: The more Trump bullies and badgers Congress, the more lawmakers question what they have to gain or lose from trying to appease him, especially those already heading for the exits.

“I think it’s hard to divorce anything that happens here from what’s happening in the political atmosphere around us,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met behind closed doors with senators for hours to discuss the compensation fund, but left without a resolution.

Afterward, Thune said the discussion likely left the administration’s team with “an appreciation for the depth of feeling on the issue.”

Trump’s Wins Come at a Cost

While Trump-backed candidates defeated Republican incumbents in the House and Senate this week, showing his command of party faithful, some in Congress viewed their colleagues’ defeats differently.

“You don’t want to have a totally loyal party that’s in the minority. And that’s maybe where we’re headed,” said Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who is retiring at the end of his term.

It began Saturday, when Cassidy—who voted to convict Trump in his Senate impeachment trial after Jan. 6—lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger in Louisiana. He returned to Washington days later noticeably more eager to criticize Trump and more willing to vote against him.

“Congress should hold the executive branch accountable,” Cassidy said Monday. A day later, he joined Democrats in voting to rein in the war in Iran.

Then came Trump’s endorsement of Ken Paxton over Cornyn in Texas, a move many Republicans viewed as both personal and politically reckless. Trump said Cornyn “was not supportive of me when times were tough.”

“There’s a lot of folks in our conference that are disappointed because we appreciate working with John Cornyn,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.

Others worried the divisive Texas primary could jeopardize a seat Republicans cannot afford to lose.

“He made the wrong pick,” Tillis said. “It’s going to be a lot more expensive to hold that seat.”

Frustration Isn’t Limited to the Senate

In the House, there were also signs of Republican discontent.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., joined Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi in introducing legislation that would block taxpayer dollars from being used for Trump’s proposed “anti-weaponization” compensation fund.

Fitzpatrick also drew Trump’s ire after the president complained publicly that the congressman “likes voting against Trump” and warned, “You know what happens with that?”

But Fitzpatrick insisted the backlash inside the party was driven by policy concerns, not political fear.

“People have the right to free speech in this country,” Fitzpatrick said. “But what we do here is all about policy.”

At the same time, Fitzpatrick and Republican Michigan Rep. Tom Barrett were expected to side with Democrats in voting for the war powers resolution to rein in Trump’s military campaign in Iran.

GOP leaders pulled the measure at the last minute when it became clear Republicans lacked the votes to defeat it.

Bacon, who spent some 30 years on active duty in the Air Force, said he believed much of the Republican pushback to the war could be resolved if Trump consulted Congress more.

“You sit down with somebody, and work with them instead of threatening, bully and yelling,” said Bacon. “It don’t work.”