WASHINGTON – The so-called “YOLO caucus” is making waves.
In a Congress predominantly led by Republicans who usually align with President Donald Trump, a small but gradually expanding group of lawmakers is starting to diverge from White House policies. Despite the president’s strong influence over Republican voters, this emerging faction could pose challenges to his legislative goals, ranging from military actions in Iran to immigration funding, at a time when the party’s majority in Congress remains fragile.
Louisiana’s Sen. Bill Cassidy has recently joined this group. Just days after losing his primary to a Trump-endorsed contender, Cassidy took a notable stand on Tuesday by changing his position on proposed legislation related to the Iran conflict and siding with Democrats to limit U.S. military involvement.
“Our Constitution is designed for Congress to hold the executive branch accountable,” Cassidy explained to reporters the day before his vote.
Next in line might be Sen. John Cornyn from Texas. He could face a similar decision after President Trump threw his support behind Ken Paxton, Cornyn’s opponent in the upcoming Republican nomination runoff.
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky is arguably one of the original members of this informal caucus, having consistently challenged Trump since the president’s first term. Massie’s position within this group was further cemented after he lost his primary on Tuesday to a challenger endorsed by Trump.
Massie has enraged Trump by voting against his signature tax and spending bill and by pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
He hinted there’s more to come before he leaves office.
“I got seven months left in Congress,” Massie said with a grin during his concession speech as the crowd erupted.
More Republicans feel free to shrug off Trump
Other similarly situated Republicans include Sen. Thom Tillis, who was a fierce critic of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and has more recently turned his attention to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. There’s also Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who joined Democrats last week in a bid to curb Trump’s war powers in Iran. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky have voted against some of Trump’s Cabinet picks. And in the House, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska has pushed to reclaim congressional power over tariffs.
“If the legislative branch always votes with the president, we do have a king,” Massie said in his concession speech Tuesday.
This hardly amounts to a revival of the Never Trump movement that some Republicans unsuccessfully hoped would curb the president’s excesses during his first term or block him from returning to office. Many in the party, including Trump’s occasional detractors, have either stood by or been unable to block the president as he launched the war in Iran and presided over an aggressive immigration enforcement operation and the dismantling of the federal workforce.
Today’s unencumbered Republicans don’t fit into an ideological box. But they are united by a sense of emboldenment that can only be attained in a few ways in Trump’s Washington.
Many, like Tillis, McConnell and Bacon, have decided to retire and can cast votes knowing they’ll never again have to face Republican primary voters. Others like Collins and Murkowski have more leeway because they represent states that tend to reward political independence. And some like Massie banked on the idea that voters could support both Trump and someone who occasionally crossed him.
It’s a paradox for Trump. As he demands total loyalty and pushes out Republican dissenters, he’s left with a growing cohort who, for one reason or another, owe Trump nothing.
Democrats look to capitalize
That could be a problem for Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, who are already governing with threadbare majorities. Shifting loyalties of even a few Republican lawmakers could dramatically complicate the ability for either chamber to pass substantial legislation ahead of the November midterm elections.
The next tests could come later this week as Thune pushes a funding package for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol designed to pass on a party line basis.
Democrats are eager to pounce.
Speaking at an event in Washington on Tuesday sponsored by the Center for American Progress, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said he would aim to drive a wedge between Republicans by using a so-called discharge petition to bring issues directly to the floor for a vote.
That tactic has been successful in securing House passage on issues ranging from the Epstein files to temporary protection of Haitian immigrants.
“When we’re disciplined and when we’re focused and when we put pressure in particular on the so-called swing seat Republicans, they have been breaking with us,” Jeffries said.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters on Tuesday that Trump’s endorsement of Cornyn’s rival was a sign that his political power lies within the Republican base — not the American public at large.
“He’s showed the only influence he has, and that’s an outsize influence within the base of the party,” the potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender told reporters in Washington. “Otherwise he’s shown little to no influence with the American people.”
Counting the votes
That leaves Republicans gaming out how they might cobble together the votes needed to pass legislation.
Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota called Cassidy a “good friend” and said the loss was “tough for him.” He said Cassidy “will always vote in line with what he thinks is best” but doubted he will become a less reliable Republican vote.
His fellow Louisianan, Sen. John Kennedy, said Cassidy deploys power “rationally and maturely” and “will continue to do the same thing.”
Cassidy repeatedly rejected the notion that he will spend his final months in Washington as a troublemaker for Trump, saying he’s going to do “what’s good for my country and my state.”
Yet the independent streak that ended his political career quickly resurfaced. A week after Trump visited China, Cassidy spoke of a western alliance that’s “totally falling apart” and will be unable to “push back on the threat China represents.” He seemed stunned that the administration would create a nearly $1.8 trillion fund to compensate Trump allies who they believe have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted.
“I just came off the campaign trail,” he said. “People are concerned about making their own ends meet, not about putting a slush fund together without a legal precedent.”
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Associated Press writer Stephen Groves in Washington contributed to this report.
