It often seems like President Donald Trump simply doesn’t care about making his party look good ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
And two recent pushes drive that home: His insistence that the Senate pass the “SAVE America Act” (despite it apparently having no path), and his decision to dig in on Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general while defending the controversial “anti-weaponization” fund that has imperiled his confirmation.
Both efforts have increasingly riven the Senate at an inopportune time for the GOP. And Trump’s intransigence threatens the broader harmony in the conservative movement, with the GOP already deeply wounded by his historic unpopularity.
And for what? Neither Trump priority seems to carry much potential upside for him.
The Blanche nomination has been puzzling from the start. Having already been confirmed as deputy attorney general, he could have stayed on as acting attorney general after former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s departure. And some figured that’s what would happen.
