By Olivia Beavers and Annie Linskey

WASHINGTON -- In September, Nebraska Republican Rep. Don Bacon struggled over whether to back the White House on tariffs in a key House vote and, after an intense lobbying campaign from his party's leaders, supported President Trump. This week the congressman flipped, one of six House Republicans to vote to rein in the president's tariffs on Canada.

Bacon's switch came despite an effort he said included party leaders calling companies in his state and promising exemptions if he would get on board. Instead, the lawmaker said he stood on principle after rereading Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations," the philosopher's seminal 1776 treatise championing free trade.

It is just one example of how Trump and the White House are finding they need to spend more and more effort on a task that used to come easily: Keeping the GOP rank-and-file in line.

After facing little resistance from Republicans during the first year of his second term, Trump is now contending with pushback from the GOP on multiple fronts including on issues that are most closely associated with his agenda like trade and even immigration. The nascent independence, particularly in Congress, shows how some Republicans are recalculating the delicate balance between fealty to Trump and concern that some of his policies depart from their views or drag on their election prospects.

Lawmakers who don't typically break with the president have publicly complained about comments from Trump and top administration officials that appeared to support gun control. Some antiabortion groups have expressed discomfort with where the White House has failed to move swiftly on their priorities. Republicans have pushed back on Trump's efforts to investigate Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Republican lawmakers, coalition leaders and even some of the president's friends are telling the White House that the president's mass deportations have been too disruptive and need to be scaled back, according to people familiar with the conversations. The White House is hearing from Republican lawmakers eager for a legislative fix to immigration rules, according to two people familiar with the matter.

But even Republicans who dislike some of Trump's policies say that his grip on the party is as strong as ever. Trump remains hugely popular among his base. Some 92% of people who voted for him in 2024 gave him a positive job rating in a Wall Street Journal poll conducted in January.

The party as a whole is taking a hit, with the generic congressional ballot showing Democrats with a 5-percentage-point advantage this month after the two parties were essentially tied last year at this time, according to a Real Clear Politics average.

"It is imperative all Republicans remain unified against the Democrats who, if given the chance at power, will seek to once again destroy our country through open borders, horrific economic policy, and noncitizens voting in elections," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. She said the president communicates with House lawmakers "on a daily basis" and "has great longstanding relationships with Republicans on Capitol Hill."

The White House touts Trump's record on abortion, noting among other achievements that his Supreme Court appointments set the stage to roll back Roe v. Wade. Leavitt has made clear in recent weeks that Trump "absolutely" supports gun owners' Second Amendment rights and has pointed to broad support from Republicans on Trump's overall immigration and economic agenda.

But compounding problems for the White House: The recent release of the Epstein files has thrust a politically toxic story line back into the spotlight. Meanwhile, Trump's social-media usage, a perennial irritation for Republicans, prompted outright condemnation from some Republicans when he posted a video on social media depicting former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes. The White House said an aide was responsible for the post, which was later deleted.

"As we get closer to elections, people are going to watch out for themselves more than carrying the water for somebody else," said retiring Rep. Dan Newhouse (R., Wash.), who voted in 2021 to impeach the president in the wake of the Capitol riot by a mob of Trump supporters.

Newhouse was also among the six who voted to rein in the president's tariffs on Canada -- a stark example of growing GOP recalcitrance. The vote came after Democrats, who are in the minority, successfully got the antitariff legislation on the floor. It forced the White House and congressional leadership to go to great lengths to try to quell a threatened revolt.

More Republican members -- with some projecting dozens more -- were expected to vote against the tariffs but ultimately fell in line with the White House, according to people familiar with the matter. Republicans have a 218 to 214 edge in the House, making it imperative for the White House to prevent even modest defections.

The White House, the House GOP leadership team, and rank-and-file members were actively whipping the members ahead of the votes this week. And while these groups tried to use carrots, Trump used a stick, threatening on social media that Republicans who vote against tariffs "will seriously suffer the consequences come Election Time," including primary challengers.

"I don't fault members of the White House and Congress trying to persuade me to vote in favor of blocking debate on tariffs. It is their job," Bacon, who is retiring at the end of this congressional term, told the Journal in an interview. "But they don't understand me. I oppose tariffs on principle and was not looking for special favors."

The White House mounted an aggressive last-minute lobbying effort to bring the lawmakers in line, but a senior White House official stressed that it doesn't grant company-specific exemptions on tariffs.

In recent weeks, Republicans have also openly challenged the administration on its approach to deportations and complained both privately and publicly about the leadership of Trump's Department of Homeland Security.

The White House has heard out the concerns from House Republicans who are eager to push legislative immigration reform, meeting with lawmakers who have sounded the alarm about the president's aggressive immigration tactics on mass deportations. Trump isn't interested in pursuing any legislation that includes large-scale amnesty for undocumented immigrants, a senior White House official said.

An inflection point on immigration came after Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen, was fatally shot by federal immigration officers last month.

But concerns about Trump's harsh mass-deportation tactics have been percolating in Congress for months. Late last year, when the deportation efforts were still ramping up, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and other White House aides got an earful from several GOP lawmakers who were already becoming nervous about the political implications of the methods.

The closed door meeting included several centrist Republicans who challenged Miller, saying the White House approach to immigration was too aggressive and could hurt their chances in the midterm elections, according to people familiar with the meeting. Miller has pushed the targeting of noncriminal immigrants and demanded authorities meet daily deportation quotas.

Another person in the meeting said some Republicans raised concerns about how various industries like hospitality, agriculture and construction would be affected by the hard-line approach. That person also said participants were mostly supportive of the administration's efforts.

Miller, the architect of Trump's immigration policy, defended the administration's tactics and doubled down, arguing that the deportations weren't happening as fast as he would like, according to another attendee. At the time, the daily deportation numbers were far lower than they are today and funding for the immigration enforcement efforts had just recently passed Congress.

Months later, some members are more openly sharing their concerns about the administration's approach to immigration.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R., Ind.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who is a strong Trump supporter, has warned that the administration's immigration policies are having a negative impact on the business community within his district.

"I have heard from folks who are typically Republican voters that are frustrated with the images [showing harsh deportation tactics]," Stutzman said in an interview. "Some of it is Minneapolis, some of it is memes and videos."

Write to Olivia Beavers at Olivia.Beavers@wsj.com and Annie Linskey at annie.linskey@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 13, 2026 21:00 ET (02:00 GMT)

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