President Trump pushed his relationship with Senate Republicans to a near breaking point this week, threatening to refuse to sign a renewal of a major federal surveillance law and upending the chamber's confirmation calendar, sources told the Wail.
Trump's threat to withhold his signature from the surveillance statute renewal — a reauthorization the Senate GOP had counted on clearing before the summer recess — caught Republican leaders off guard and scrambled floor scheduling.
The president also intervened in Senate confirmation proceedings, disrupting a queue of judicial and executive-branch nominees that Republican leadership had carefully arranged, according to reporting reviewed by the Wail.
Republican senators, speaking without attribution, described the situation as untenable. Several told colleagues the White House had offered no advance notice before each disruption.
The friction adds to a pattern of Trump demanding Senate loyalty while reserving the right to override Republican legislative priorities without consultation.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has not publicly addressed the surveillance-law threat. The chamber is expected to return to the surveillance reauthorization and outstanding confirmations when it reconvenes next week.