Meet the YOLO Republicans: Lawmakers with nothing to lose are threatening Trump’s grip on Congress

President Donald Trump spent the past year using fear and intimidation to keep Hill Republicans in line, with considerable success. Now those tactics are starting to lose their bite — thanks to a small group of Republicans with nothing to lose.

The reasons why this handful of GOP lawmakers feel empowered to spurn their president and their party vary. But they are launching mini-rebellions with increasing frequency. It’s causing headaches for party leaders who want to keep tight control of the legislative agenda in an election year and anxiety among rank-and-file Republicans who are facing intense pressure to stick with Trump.

“Some people live in fear,” said Rep. Don Bacon, a retiring Nebraska Republican who was at the center of a crucial episode this past week, where he and two colleagues joined with Democrats to force House votes on Trump’s controversial tariffs.

When a vote to overturn his Canada levies came to the floor Wednesday, “I was in the cloakroom, and I heard people say, 'I hate tariffs,' and then voted” to leave them in place, Bacon recalled. Were it not for threats of retaliation from Trump and a heavy White House lobbying campaign, he estimated “30 or 40” Republicans would have broken ranks.

In the end, only six did. But thanks to the thin margins in both chambers — especially the House — a few steel-spined lawmakers can have an outsized impact. That’s a change from the dynamics in Trump’s first term, when many House Republicans weren’t fully on board with the president’s MAGA agenda, but the GOP had a much larger majority to work with.

Just ask Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who has gone from an occasional annoyance to Republican leaders to a persistent problem in the 119th Congress.

“The margin is razor-thin, so on any given day, I would just need one or two of my own co-conspirators to get something done,” Massie said in an interview before predicting the situation will only get worse for Trump.

“The retirement caucus is growing,” he said, referring to the dozens of members not seeking reelection to the House. “Once we get past March, April, and May, which contain a large portion of their Republican primaries, I think you're going to see more defections.”

Those who have not defected are losing patience with their colleagues, with many arguing it is only hurting the GOP’s chances in the upcoming midterms.

“Certainly, I respect their right to be independent,” said Republican Rep. Buddy Carter, who is running for Senate in Georgia. “But you know, this is a team game. We got to remember that.”

One House Republican who was granted anonymity to speak candidly complained about a faction that “just wants to go rogue” while putting colleagues in a politically difficult spot — such as with the tariff vote this week.

“Those guys might lose now,” the lawmaker said of the House GOP’s most vulnerable members.

As voting was underway on the tariff measure this week, Trump publicly threatened to support primary challengers and enact other “consequences” against the members who didn't fall in line. To some degree it worked — predictions of a mass GOP jailbreak didn’t materialize.

But enough members with some political insulation defected, allowing the measure to advance through the House and onto the Senate, which is likely to approve it and set up a Trump veto. Bacon and Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington are retiring, freeing them from concerns about primary threats.

Meanwhile, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Jeff Hurd of Colorado are in competitive districts that Republicans can’t afford to lose, putting pressure on the duo to show independence from their party. Rep. Kevin Kiley’s California district got blown up as part of Trump’s redistricting war. And Massie has long been accustomed to being at odds with party leaders, with his campaign to pry open the Jeffrey Epstein files sparking open warfare with the White House.

Some have doubts that a larger group of Republicans will ever break dramatically with Trump, given his durable popularity with the party base and the need for GOP candidates even in purple districts to appeal to the president’s loyalists.

One test will come later this year when Trump hits the midterm campaign trail, said Sam Geduldig, a lobbyist at CGCN Group and former House leadership aide.

“I would be surprised if a candidate didn’t want him at a rally, and that speaks to Trump’s strength,” he said. “If he can do that, it says a lot. In 2006, no one wanted [former President] George W. Bush in their district — not in conservative districts, not in moderate ones. If you’re measuring him against modern Republican presidents, he looks strong by comparison.”

Over in the Senate, Trump already has a fraught relationship with some GOP senators, like Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, and there is generally a stronger culture of lawmaker independence. But Trump’s decision to essentially send Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina into retirement has introduced a new wild card in the chamber’s dynamics.

Tillis announced he would not seek reelection after voting to oppose Trump’s signature “big, beautiful bill” and warning the Medicaid cuts in the party-line policy package would be a political death knell for the GOP. Now Tillis is frequently speaking out against Trump and is single-handedly blocking his Federal Reserve nominees until a Justice Department investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell is resolved.

Some members are also eyeing GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana as a freer agent after Trump went ahead and endorsed an opponent in the May 16 primary. Asked about Trump’s threats to lawmakers, Tillis suggested they could easily backfire.

“I still maintain a good relationship with him ... but I think we need to check our passions at the door," he said this week.

Hurd, the Colorado moderate who voted to cancel the Canada tariffs and is facing a more conservative primary challenger, said he would “let the president’s statement speak for itself.”

But Hurd prevailed in 2024 without Trump’s endorsement and is in a competitive enough district that Trump can’t afford to meddle too much. The district was decided by 546 votes in 2022, when GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert narrowly held onto the seat.

“If they want to come to a district where Trump is underwater and push for tariffs in an agriculture- and manufacturing-heavy area, fine — that’s not going to work,” said a person granted anonymity to candidly discuss party strategy. “If they want to lose the majority and play in these primaries, then go ahead.”

Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, has his hands full just keeping his majority intact. He currently can afford to lose only a single GOP member on party-line votes, and while upcoming special elections could boost that margin slightly, things are likely to remain super tight.

Johnson this week said he had urged one Republican battling health issues, Rep. Neal Dunn of Florida, to stick it out and finish his term amid concerns he might resign early.

Dunn declined to comment on his plans, but a close friend of his, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), said he had jokingly told Dunn he would like to be helpful amid all the floor unrest.

"I did offer to carry him into the chamber,” Wilson said.

Jordain Carney, Mia McCarthy and Alex Gangitano contributed to this report.