President Donald Trump has faced a surge in Republican revolts over the past few weeks, but political analysts told Newsweek that does not necessarily mean his grip on the GOP is slipping.

Why It Matters

Trump’s support among Congressional Republicans has been pivotal to passing his agenda since he returned to office last January. For the first several months of his second term, he enjoyed wide support from Republican voters and members of Congress, who largely backed his policies and had embraced his political style.

But the party’s loyalty to the president has shifted as Republicans are increasingly breaking from his positions on foreign policy, such as his approach to Venezuela and Greenland, as well as on domestic issues, like his administration’s handling of the Epstein file release. If his support from Congressional Republicans further erodes, that could become a challenge for him as he continues to move to enact his conservative agenda.

What to Know

Trump faced increasing pushback from Congressional Republicans so far in 2026. Just this week, a flurry of Republicans in the House sought to override his recent vetoes, while others sought to curb his war powers.

Dozens of Republicans joined Democrats to try to override the Trump vetoes on two bills this week.

One bill, introduced by Representative Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican and key ally to the president, would have extended federal support for the Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC), a water pipeline project in Colorado that would serve communities east of Pueblo. A separate bill by Representative Carlos Gimenez, a Florida Republican, would have given the Miccosukee Tribe in South Florida more control of its tribal lands.

Although the votes received bipartisan support from numerous Republicans, that was not enough to override Trump’s vetoes, as doing so would require two-thirds support from Congress. But it still marks a significant number of Republicans pushing back on the two vetoes.

Boebert had previously said she hoped Trump’s veto of her bill had “nothing to do with political retaliation for calling out corruption and demanding accountability.”

On the Senate side, five Republicans joined Democrats to advance legislation that would restrict Trump’s ability to launch further attacks on Venezuela, following the capture of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, last weekend. The Republicans were Josh Hawley of Missouri, Susan Collins of Maine, Todd Young of Indiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Trump said in a post to Truth Social those senators “should never be elected to office again.”

Getty Images. Newsweek/Illustration

Representative Mike Rogers of Alabama has introduced separate legislation aimed at curbing presidential war powers.

Meanwhile, Trump’s remarks on annexing Greenland have also drawn pushback from numerous Republicans. Trump has ramped up his rhetoric, saying the U.S. needs Greenland for national security reasons. The White House has declined to take off the table the option of using the military to acquire Greenland.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, however, has downplayed the potential use of the military to take control of Greenland.

“I don’t see military action being an option there… That, to me, is not something anybody is contemplating seriously at this point,” he said.

Several other Republicans have also rebuked the idea. Senator Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said the administration’s talk on Greenland is “counterproductive.” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, said the topic “should be dropped.” Senator John Curtis, a Utah Republican, said military use “is not appropriate, not necessary, and not something I will support.”

Several political experts told Newsweek that while he has faced some pushback, the president remains broadly popular among Republicans and still wields significant political influence over conservatives.

Chandler James, professor of political science at the University of Oregon, told Newsweek that presidents typically have most influence after an election victory and during their first 100 days. As they advance their agenda, they “spend down their political capital,” he said.

“Overtime for any president, their political capital and grip on their party, we would expect to diminish,” he said. “Particularly for a second-term president.”

Republicans may also be thinking about a post-Trump presidency, in addition to the midterms, James said.

These are “specific issues” where the president is “losing some public support,” but not a massive challenge to his influence, Raymond La Raja, professor of political science and co-director of the University of Massachusetts Amherst's polling program, told Newsweek on Friday.

“It’s not a huge defection,” he said. “He’s still got his grip on the party.”

Pushing back on the president could be a midterm play for some Republicans, like Senator Susan Collins of Maine who is facing a competitive reelection bid, he said. Doing could help these Republicans win some crossover votes in a general election. But there is still an electoral threat that Trump could endorse a more conservative primary challenge, representing his “grip on the party,” La Raja said.

More defections could occur if the economy goes south or if there is a “major collapse” in Venezuela, he said.

David Hopkins, professor of political science at Boston College, told Newsweek the GOP is not in a “meaningfully different climate” compared to last year in terms of support for the president.

Ahead of the midterms, most Republicans in safe districts are going to be more concerned with Trump’s approval rating within the party, as they’re more vulnerable to a primary challenge than a Democrat.

Most polls show Trump remains popular among conservatives. A recent poll from YouGov and The Economist showed Trump’s approval sitting at 81 percent among Republicans. Although that’s his a second term low, it’s still a vast majority of Republicans who support his administration.

The electoral calculus may be different for Republicans in purple states or districts, Hopkins said.

“There’s a political calculation at work that if you’re trying to run in purple state or district and Donald Trump’s approval rating is 40 percent or so, there is a benefit to at least try to distance yourself a little bit from Trump just to show you’re a little bit more independent and not going to blindly follow Trump,” he said.

Todd Belt, director of the Political Management Program at George Washington University, told Newsweek that whenever it seems like Trump’s grip on the GOP may be slipping, “he is able to regain it.”

“Mostly the break is a signal to their constituents. However, they get right back behind Trump when the pressure is on, just like they rallied to his defense on January 6th after excoriating him and most recently when many flipped their votes to avoid overriding his two vetoes,” he said.

Some Republicans, such as former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia or Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, have embraced an “America First” style of politics that leaves them at odds with Trump on some foreign policy issues.

Greene, prior to her exit from Congress this month, had criticized Trump’s positions on foreign policy issues, including the administration’s decisions to strike countries like Iran or Venezuela. She also criticized the administration’s handling of the files related to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York federal jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking.

Trump campaigned on releasing the files, but faced criticism from many Republicans after his administration did not quickly do so. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has begun releasing many of the files but has still faced questions over redactions. It remains a sticking point for some Republicans like Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

What People Are Saying

Todd Belt, director of the Political Management Program at George Washington University, also told Newsweek: “It's too early to write Donald Trump's epitaph as the head of the Republican party. As long as Donald Trump is alive, he will control Republican politics, even after he leaves office, just as he controlled Republicans from the sidelines during Biden's term (electorally and scuttling the immigration reform bill).”

Chandler James, professor of political science at the University of Oregon, told Newsweek: “We have to understand these Republican members of Congress, they’re going to stick with Trump as long as they believe it is in their interest to do so. When they calculate that sticking with him is more costly, than breaking with him, I think a lot of them would break with him.”

Former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, told CNN in 2025: “I think the dam is breaking. Many Republicans may not have called him out, but last week 13 Republicans voted with Democrats to overturn one of President Trump’s executive orders, which enabled him to fire federal workers. We also saw Indiana Republicans vote against redistricting. He didn’t call any of them traitors and call for primaries against them, but I would like to say that is a sign where you’re seeing Republicans—they’re entering the campaign phase for 2026, which is a large signal that lame duck season has begun.”

What Happens Next

Whether or not more Republicans break with Trump over the coming months is yet to be seen; analysts said factors such as the state of the economy could determine how strong Trump’s hold on the Republican Party will remain.