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Fractures are starting to show in Trump’s GOP at the start of this election year​

By STEPHEN GROVES
Updated 5:17 PM CST, January 9, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — For House Republicans, the political year started with a pep rally of sorts as President Donald Trump gathered them at Washington’s Kennedy Center for a stemwinder of a speech. But by the time lawmakers had completed their first week of work this midterm election year, fractures in the party were already showing.

From pushback to Trump’s self-described “Donroe doctrine” of aggression in the Western Hemisphere to breaks in party unity over health care, Republican lawmakers are displaying signs of independence from Trump after spending much of the last year acquiescing to his practically every demand. It showed a new dynamic in the GOP as Republicans embark on difficult campaign to keep control of both the House and Senate.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, speaking at the U.S.-Mexico border Friday with a group of Republican Senate candidates, said that Republicans were “going to be focused like a laser” on issues of affordability and pointed to legislation in the works on housing and health care.

Thune’s border trip and talk of affordability were a nod back to some of the core themes of Trump’s presidential campaign. But the focus in Washington of late has instead been dominated by Trump’s military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, his threats to use military force to take control of Greenland, the release of case files on Jeffrey Epstein and a debate over extending subsidies for insurance offered under the Affordable Care Act — an issue where Republicans have long struggled to find unity. ...

READ THE FULL STORY - AP

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