Behind the Curtain: Resistance rising
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Little by little, week after week, a subtle but significant shift is unfolding in American politics: Institutions and even a small but growing number of Republicans are standing up to President Trump.
Why it matters: This is hardly COVID, where everyone seemed to resist everything — or even a return to Normal Times, when CEOs and Republicans said something when they saw something alarming.
But the law of political gravity is starting to apply to Trump. Simply put, the more unpopular his policies and tactics, the easier it is for even scared Republicans to speak up and institutions to hold their ground.
- To be clear, the number of House and Senate Republicans willing to cross Trump publicly remains tiny. But everywhere else, resistance is growing.
Look how 2026 has started for Trump, and the new pushback he faces, as synthesized by Axios' Zachary Basu:
- ⚖️ Retribution: A federal grand jury unanimously rejected the Justice Department's attempt to indict six Democratic lawmakers over a video they made urging service members to refuse unlawful orders. It's at least the fifth time that charges against Trump's adversaries or protesters have been turned away by a grand jury — virtually unheard of in modern federal prosecutions. A federal judge also shut down Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's attempt to punish Navy veteran Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) over his role in the video, accusing the Pentagon of unconstitutional retaliation.
- 🚨 ICE raids: Trump's border czar Tom Homan announced an end to the 10-week ICE surge in Minneapolis following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens, which drew mass protests and rare rebukes from corporate America. The president acknowledged his mass deportation campaign could use a "softer touch," as private and public polls point to a sharp decline in support for his immigration policies.
- 🪖 National Guard: Trump also withdrew all federalized National Guard troops from L.A., Chicago and Portland after repeated legal defeats and opposition from state and local leaders, dealing a blow to his efforts to crack down on crime in Democratic-run cities.
- 📦 Tariffs: Six House Republicans joined Democrats to pass a resolution rescinding Trump's tariffs on Canada. The vote became possible only after a smaller group of Republicans staged a floor rebellion against GOP leadership, opening the door for Democrats to force more politically painful votes on Trump's trade agenda.
- 🗂️ Epstein files: Trump's push to shut down MAGA's Jeffrey Epstein obsession backfired in spectacular fashion. The Justice Department is still grappling with daily backlash after releasing more than 3 million documents, with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) voicing rare criticism over revelations that DOJ tracked what lawmakers searched while reviewing the unredacted files.
- 📽️ Racism: A chorus of Republicans, led by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), condemned Trump's reposting of a video that depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. The White House initially defended the post before deleting it and claiming an aide shared the clip.
- 🇩🇰 Greenland: Trump dominated Davos last month with his threats to seize Greenland by any means necessary — only to retreat amid market turmoil, European fury, warnings from congressional Republicans, and a vague "deal" promising the U.S. greater access to the Arctic territory.
- 🏦 Fed: The DOJ's criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell has drawn deep skepticism from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who has vowed to block confirmation of Powell's successor, Kevin Warsh, unless the probe is dropped. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent privately proposed shifting the investigation to the Senate to placate Tillis, who swiftly threw cold water on the idea.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios in response to a query about this column: "President Trump is the unequivocal leader of the Republican Party and anyone who says otherwise is fooling themselves."
- "Under President Trump's leadership, Republicans will remain united together against the radical Democrats, who will destroy our country once again, if given the chance, with wide-open borders, noncitizens voting in elections, and horrible economic policy."
The bottom line: Trump remains the dominant force in American politics. But the automatic deference that defined his first year is eroding.
- Go deeper: MAGA's metastasizing mess.
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- 📚 Jim's book on life and leadership — "Just the Good Stuff: No-BS Secrets to Success," a New York Times bestseller — is coming out in paperback on April 21. Preorder here.
