Strains grow in Republicans’ unhappy marriage with Trump

It may not yet be a full-blown divorce, but the relationship between Donald Trump and the Republican Party is fast unravelling, threatening the president’s prospects of steering legislation through Congress.

Trump took barely 18 months to conquer the party of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan, swatting aside more traditional challengers as he seized the Republican White House nomination in last year’s US election.

But six months into his presidency, his disconnect with many in his party is clear, after the departure of two party stalwarts from the White House and the public shaming of his own attorney general.

And after a recent humiliating defeat in the Senate on health reforms, party insiders are warning Trump can expect similar setbacks unless he learns to work constructively with Republicans on Capitol Hill.

“His presidency will only be successful if he has allies throughout the government, and that includes the legislative branch,” said Alex Conant, a former senior aide to Senator Marco Rubio.

“If he spends his entire presidency at war with Congress, it will be a very unfulfilling four years,” added Conant, who classed the current relationship between party and president as “awkward.”

Source: Strains grow in Republicans’ unhappy marriage with Trump | SBS News