Mr. Trump’s decisions frustrate Republicans

In recent weeks, a number of political allies have sought to express concerns to US President Donald Trump about the consequences of his recent decisions. However, Mr. Trump responded every time with “I am the President, and you are not!”, reported Wall Street Journal quoting knowledgeable sources said.

After 17 months in office for his second term, Mr. Trump seems to be increasingly relying on personal intuition, dismissing advice from advisers, conservative congressmen and longtime associates.

Despite the concerns of his allies, President Trump has taken a series of surprising and even discouraging actions among voters, raising fears that the Republican Party will suffer consequences in the November midterm elections, while also testing his long-standing solid control over the party’s internal affairs.

Last week, he angered some conservative members and Republican congressmen when he agreed to sign a preliminary agreement with Iran, which they believed was giving a “gift” to Tehran without thoroughly addressing the country’s nuclear ambitions.

Republican Congressman Bill Cassidy, who just lost the primary election earlier this year to his opponent backed by Mr. Trump, said that the agreement clearly cannot meet the goals the administration declared when launching its air campaign against Iran.

“This is the worst foreign policy mistake in decades,” he said.

Regarding domestic affairs, the US President also ruined the Senate’s plan to quickly approve a new intelligence director. He did not allow the candidate he nominated to attend the position confirmation hearing, in order to prolong the time in office of the person holding the position of acting director appointed by him.

The President also announced that he would not sign an extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which is a top priority for Republican allies in Congress, until lawmakers pass a voter identification bill, despite party leaders claiming it does not have enough votes to pass the parliamentary round.

According to sources, while facing criticism from within the party, Mr. Trump in recent weeks has made statements that have surprised his political allies, and unintentionally created momentum for the Democratic Party’s election campaign.

When asked last month whether economic pressure from the American people was the driving force for him to seek an agreement to end the conflict with Iran, the President replied: “Not at all.”

“I do not care about the financial situation of the American people,” he said at that time and faced criticism from members of the Republican party. “I don’t think about anyone. I only think about one thing, we cannot let Iran have nuclear weapons. That’s all.”

On June 17, he even said that Iran should be allowed to retain some ballistic missiles, even though US national security advisers had previously identified destroying Tehran’s missile capabilities as the top goal in the war.

Allies are insecure

White House officials affirmed that his improvisational style is one of the President’s political talents and that it has helped him build a base of loyal support over the years.

“There is no president who works harder or brings more results than President Trump. His achievements say it all,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said, citing the results he achieved in the fields of immigration, economics and national security.

However, inside the White House, some advisers have quietly expressed dissatisfaction with the President’s recent steps. According to sources familiar with the matter, Mr. Trump’s appointment of Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) has upset many assistants who had deep disagreements with Mr. Pulte before.

On the contrary, Mr. Trump also expressed frustration with his subordinates when blaming his advisers for preventing him from mentioning tough immigration policies before the midterm elections.

Throughout most of his second term, President Trump always held absolute control within the party and few Republican politicians dared to openly oppose his steps. However, congressional Republicans are now increasingly giving frank assessments of the President’s decision.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, a Republican who rarely publicly criticizes Mr. Trump, on June 18 declared his opposition to the preliminary agreement that the President signed with Iran. He commented that this agreement is “exchanging the victories of the air campaign with concessions that are completely contrary to the goals set by the President himself.”

Mr. Trump recently also silently expressed frustration with John Thune, a Republican, the majority leader in the Senate, because he believed he was unable to pass a bill requiring voters to present identification when voting, which the President declared was a vital factor for the Republican Party to win the midterm elections.

The president told allies he was sick of hearing Thune’s rejections, but he explained that the Senate simply did not have enough votes to advance the bill.

“The absolute power that Mr. Trump once held in Congress is no longer there,” said former spokesman for the Republican leadership in the Senate and House of Representatives Ron Bonjean. “This relationship broke down after he sidelined the Republican Party’s hopes in the midterm elections and made legislative demands that could easily cause lawmakers to lose points in the eyes of voters next November.”

For months, the President has ignored warnings from Republicans and some of his own advisers that the war in Iran is exacerbating the party’s political problems. Through public opinion polls, voters have expressed concern over the spike in gasoline prices after Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz.

According to well-informed sources, in recent weeks, some of Mr. Trump’s advisers have repeatedly warned that global oil reserves are running out and that the opportunity to prevent fuel supplies from falling into an alarming state is about to disappear. Oil and gas industry executives have publicly expressed similar concerns.

On June 17, President Trump’s message about the war changed, showing that he seemed to have listened to the warnings. He admitted for the first time that a prolonged conflict could lead to an “economic disaster” and that oil reserves could be depleted in about four weeks. He affirmed that the preliminary agreement with Iran will help the economy quickly recover.

Advisors publicly breathed a sigh of relief when President Trump moved to end the war, but still, they could not escape the state of uncertainty. He suddenly decided to sign the memorandum of understanding with Iran right at dinner at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris, surprising his own assistants, because they had planned a separate signing ceremony on June 19.