<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Last week, President Trump celebrated his grip over the Republican Party.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">“Look at what happened last night,” Mr. Trump boasted at <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/05/27/us/trump-news" title="">a cabinet meeting</a> on Wednesday, after yet another MAGA-aligned candidate he had endorsed walloped an establishment Republican, this time in the Texas primary. “That was the prelude to the midterms.”</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">But it’s far from clear that Mr. Trump’s winning streak in the Republican primaries will translate into victory in November, when the party will need the support of voters outside of Mr. Trump’s base — many of whom are deeply dissatisfied with the economy and the Iran war.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Already, there are signs that his hold over Republicans in Washington may be slipping.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">In a rare show of dissent, Senate Republicans earlier this month blocked Mr. Trump on money for his White House ballroom and pushed back on <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/30/us/politics/trump-irs-lawsuit-deal.html" title="">a $1.8 billion fund</a> to reward Trump supporters who claim political persecution by Democrats. The opposition was so intense that the White House has considered scrapping it.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Mr. Trump has also been blocked by the courts: a federal judge on Friday <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/29/us/politics/trump-irs-lawsuit-ruling.html" title="">temporarily barred</a> Mr. Trump from setting up the fund for his supporters, and another court ordered him <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/05/29/us/trump-news" title="">to remove his name</a> from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Kennedy Center ruling prompted an incensed president to consider backing down — something he never likes to be seen doing.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">“We are going to be working with Congress to transfer this failing Institution back to them so they can make a determination as to what to do with it,” Mr. Trump said as he complained that there had “never been a President of the United States who has been treated so unfairly by the Courts as I.”</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">In a matter of days, Mr. Trump had gone from dominant in the primary races to facing enormous pushback by Republican elected officials in Washington and the courts.</p><div class="css-kbghgg"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-171d1bw"></div><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-1u67kh9" data-tpl="i" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" id="optimistic-truncator-a11y" tabindex="-1"><hr/><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. 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