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By Andrew Stanton and Leonardo Feldman
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President Donald Trump keeps clashing with Senate Republicans, creating a pattern of self-inflicted setbacks that is slowing his agenda on Capitol Hill, analysts told Newsweek.
Trump on Wednesday announced that he would pause Jay Clayton’s nomination to serve as director of national intelligence (DNI) until his pick for U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) is approved.
This means acting DNI Bill Pulte will remain in the position for now, complicating the path to pass a bipartisan deal to reauthorize FISA Section 702, which lapsed over the weekend.
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It’s the latest instance of Trump getting in the way of his own legislative agenda. Several actions from the administration, including his attempted anti-weaponization fund and the Department of Justice (DOJ) probe into former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, have chilled his relations with Senate Republicans, making it more difficult for legislation to advance.
With the midterms approaching, analysts say Trump and Republicans may feel pressure to move parts of Trump’s agenda while they still control both chambers.
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Democrats are favored to retake control of the House of Representatives, and the Senate is competitive. Republicans losing either chamber would make it much harder to advance Trump’s conservative agenda.
Pro-Trump unity in the GOP is “beginning to splinter,” Mark Rozell, founding dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, told Newsweek on Wednesday.
“Once they lose control of one or both legislative chambers, it will all be about Republican members fighting to survive in 2028 in the shadow of a diminished lame duck, unpopular president,” he said.
In a statement to Newsweek, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said Trump is the "unequivocal leader of the Republican party who is committed to maintaining Republicans’ majority in Congress."
Trump Halts Clayton Nomination
The president took to Truth Social on Wednesday morning to announce that he would not move to advance the nomination of Clayton, who served as U.S. attorney for SDNY, until Jamie McDonald is confirmed as his replacement.
This means that McDonald would need approval from Democratic New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand through the “blue slip” process, as well as confirmation by the broader Senate.
This will have a ripple effect on Congress’ agenda, as it means Pulte, a Trump loyalist who has overseen the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), will remain acting DNI.
Both Democrats and Republicans have been critical of Trump’s decision to name Pulte as acting DNI over concerns about his experience on national security issues and involvement in making mortgage fraud accusations against Fed Governor Lisa Cook. Democrats have said they would refuse to renew FISA Section 702 so long as Pulte remains in that position.
“Bill Pulte is deeply unqualified to serve as acting director of national intelligence, and he's deeply dangerous. He's got no national security experience, no military experience and no law enforcement experience,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told PBS News earlier this month.
FISA Deal Complicated
Trump's announcement is likely to make it more complicated to reach a FISA deal, as Senate leadership has already said there are not enough votes to pass the SAVE Act, a bill that would change election rules nationwide. Tying FISA to the bill leaves the deal in an even more precarious situation.
FISA Section 702 authorizes U.S. intelligence agencies to collect electronic communications of foreign targets outside the United States, even if those communications pass through American servers or involve Americans. Trump urged Congress to reauthorize it ahead of the World Cup and celebrations of the country's 250th anniversary.
Its renewal often divides Congress, and Trump’s announcement only makes it more difficult for a deal to advance. Proponents view it as a crucial counterterrorism tool, but critics have said it can be used to sweep up Americans' communications and enable warrantless backdoor searches.
Trump could be trying to “flex his muscles” as president while “overestimating his executive authority,” Costas Panagopoulos, professor of political science at Northeastern University, told Newsweek.
“It’s a strongman approach to governing that is attempting to call the shots, not only on what the executive branch does but what the legislative branch does. That can backfire very easily because it does not take many Republicans to block the president’s legislative agenda in Congress.”
Trump 'Just Creating Chaos,' Senator Says
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, told Newsweek that Trump is “just creating chaos.”
“Very simply and starkly, he is creating chaos in the intelligence community, which threatens our national defense,” he said.
When asked about the decision to postpone Clayton's nomination, Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, told Newsweek, "I don't have anything for you, thanks."
Senator Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, told Newsweek that Pulte should have "no role" at the DNI office.
"His only relevant qualification is a demonstrated willingness to misuse confidential or private information from mortgages to go after Trump's opponents," he said. "He has no experience in intelligence, no clearance, and Trump pulling this last minute switcheroo, where he's demanding a vote on the same act, and he's insisting that Bill Pulte be acting DNI genuinely puts our safety at risk."
Senator Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democrat, told Newsweek that Trump's actions are a "huge diss" to Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican.
Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticized the move in a post to X.
"It’s regrettable that the president has directed Jay Clayton not to appear at his confirmation hearing today. Mr. Clayton is a patriot and a highly qualified nominee, as the president has said repeatedly. While today’s hearing is now unfortunately postponed, I look forward to proceeding with his confirmation in the near future," he wrote.
Thune told Punchbowl News that it was a “good question” why Trump would want to cancel the hearing.
How Trump’s Recent Moves Have Stalled His Party’s Agenda
Trump’s recent moves have created friction between his administration and some Senate Republicans, making it a bit more difficult to advance parts of his agenda. Trump backed down in many of these battles, but they still upended his relations with the GOP Senate and slowed nominations.
DOJ Probe Into Jerome Powell
The DOJ probe into Powell resulted in a holdup of Kevin Warsh’s nomination from a key GOP senator.
Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, declined to support Warsh’s nomination as Fed chairman so long as the Powell investigation was ongoing. He said the subpoena raised concerns about “independence and credibility of the Department of Justice.”
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In January, Powell said the DOJ served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas and threatened a criminal indictment related to his testimony before a Senate committee regarding building renovations. Powell, however, said the probe should be “seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure,” as Trump has pushed the Fed to lower interest rates.
The DOJ later said it would no longer be pursuing the Powell investigation, clearing the way for Warsh’s nomination.
Anti-Weaponization Fund
The DOJ in May announced an anti-weaponization fund designed to compensate people who claimed they were unfairly targeted by government investigations. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche framed it as a response to what Trump and his allies have described as “lawfare,” but it drew swift bipartisan backlash.
Critics raised concerns that it could allow compensation for those convicted of crimes connected to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol waged by Trump supporters, including those found guilty of assaulting police officers. Blanche declined to publicly rule out such eligibility.
The fund has threatened to complicate acting Blanche’s confirmation by the Senate, as several Republicans have been noncommittal about confirming him amid their concerns.
"I have to be convinced [Blanche] is going to be the attorney general as opposed to being the president's personal attorney. The attorney general is supposed to work for all of us,” Senator Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, told reporters, according to The Shreveport Times.
Blanche has said the administration is no longer moving forward with the fund.
Why Trump’s Decisions Are Backfiring in the Senate
Rozell said that some Republicans may be more willing to oppose Trump as the midterms approach.
“Going into the midterms, some Republicans have started to distance themselves from some of Trump’s agenda,” he said. “That is causing division within the Republican coalition.”
Todd Belt, director of the Political Management Program at George Washington University, told Newsweek he doesn’t think it’s a mistake because the GOP “has always seemed to come back to” Trump.
“They know their voters are his voters, and crossing him can be career-ending. It's important to remember that a lot of these senators agree with Trump on his issues, and that there is a long tradition of ‘Senatorial courtesy’ in letting the president have the administrative personnel he wants -- they would need a very compelling reason to vote against a nominee,” he said.
Still, he said, the longer-term relationship between Trump and Thune could be “problematic.”
“Thune does not seem to want to budge on the SAVE Act and the filibuster, which will only anger Trump more and will cause more friction,” he said.
The president's influence among Republicans in Congress has “waned” in light of his declining approval ratings and economic concerns, Panagopoulos said, warning that Trump could end up “pushing Republicans too far” and have a more challenging time getting things done in the coming months.
“If they’re up against the wall, they might decide, if not to actively reject the president’s agenda, then to slow walk it in a way that effectively accomplishes the same thing,” he said.
Trump’s national approval rating has dropped amid ongoing cost-of-living concerns tied to the Iran war, so being closely associated with those policies could leave Republicans running in tight races in more vulnerable positions in November. It’s not unusual for politicians to distance themselves from an increasingly unpopular president.
Some Republicans have become more critical of Trump without the threat of losing reelection.
Two Republicans senators, John Cornyn of Texas and Cassidy, recently lost their renomination contests after Trump supported other candidates in their primaries and could be votes to watch on upcoming legislation. Tillis has also shown more willingness to buck Trump, and he is not running for reelection.
What Happens Next
It’s unclear how Congress will react to Trump’s latest move to put a hold on Clayton’s nomination as the GOP grapples with the impact on the party’s agenda.
The possibility of losing seats in the midterms looms over the coming months of legislative action. Rozell said the second half of Trump’s term will be “the most difficult for Republicans” as Democrats are likely to have more tools to block the president's agenda.
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