As cracks form in president's ironclad hold on GOP, where do local Republicans stand?

WASHINGTON DC- From a War Powers Resolution to the “Anti-Weaponization Fun,” Washington has not been business as usual this week as it appears there is pushback from members of the president’s own party on key legislative points.

This week, multiple outlets have pointed out that things do not seem status quo. The New York Times headlined it “Republicans Stand up to Trump,” and from the Senate to House we are seeing cracks in the president’s once ironclad foundation.

The first crack was on an announcement of a fund worth $1.7 billion that would give payouts to compensate some who claimed they’ve been unfairly targeted by the federal government.

Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) said earlier this week he feels the administration is putting itself in a bad position with this fund —of course he could be perceived as having an ax to grind after losing his primary.

A vote in the Senate never took place on the fund and is in flux.

But it was his vote on the War Powers resolution that really change the conversation. Democrats have been outspoken in their support of oversight with regards to President Trump’s Iran war.

In a sit-down with NonStop Local’s Bradley Warren last week, following a hearing with the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Washington’s senior senator Patty Murray (D-WA), who sits on appropriations, said the price tag of this war is endless and for immediate repercussions when it comes to gas prices, the president needs to end this war.

You can read more here from the Senator here. 

With Senator Cassidy pulling away from republicans and voting for a war powers resolution with democrats, it was successfully adopted in the Senate and kicked to the House.

Leadership in the House canceled the vote. Multiple outlets reported Republicans did not have the votes needed to stop if from advancing.

We spent the last two days reaching out to republican lawmakers from across our region.

So far the only person to get back to us with Congressman Dan Newhouse (R-WA-04):

"While I await more details about how this fund will be utilized, I understand compensating those who were victims of the previous Administration’s lawfare. Farmers and ranchers, including some here in Central Washington, were wrongly sued at the urging of extreme environmental organizations, resulting in millions of dollars in litigation fees that put some operations out of business. At the same time, I firmly believe these funds should not be allowed to go to any individual who participated in and was convicted of criminal activity, including those involved in the attacks on January 6th. Congress should utilize our oversight responsibility to ensure this fund is used in an appropriate manner."

This will be update this as more comes in.