![U.S. Capitol Building's Dome from the East. / [Image by Kevin Burkett via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2017/8/23/660x290/b_502x220x82/us-capitol-buildings-dome-from-the-east-image-by-kevin-burkett-via-flickr-cc-by-sa-20_1528923.jpg "U.S. Capitol Building's Dome from the East. / [Image by Kevin Burkett via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0]")
According to a former Republican senator from New Hampshire, Judd Gregg, who is close to the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the chamber's frustrations with President Trump might finally be "boiling over." The August recess appears to be a much needed break from a hostile White House and a president who refuses to learn how to legislate. But recent incidents and reports about legislating under such a hostile and destructive force appears to be causing republicans to reconsider their support.
Congressional outlook for year's priorities, bleak
This is especially the case because, during the first seven months of Trump's presidency, neither the House or the Senate have been able to pass many of their major priorities. The legislative process has also angered Trump who seems to have just one reaction to failure which is to threaten and bully lawmakers. Gregg pointed to those issues as the source of contention that is now frustrating Republican leaders. Congress is set to return to Washington in September when they are looking to go after some priorities which is already looking bleak.
Despite the fact that Trump wants Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) again, otherwise known as Obamacare, after failing to do so five times during the first half of the year, the Republican leadership has already shown that they are no longer as energized about it and have decided to move on to other things.
While Congress acknowledges that they need to work on infrastructure and tax-reform, the President is already threatening to shut down the government and veto budget bills that don't include funding for his border wall along the Mexican-American border.
Trump Vs. McConnell
It's already reported that some Republicans are positioning themselves to work on passing Trump's agenda through a budget bill that includes funding for a border wall on the Santa Ana Wildlife reserve.
Though he is no longer a senator, being that Judd Gregg is close to McConnell, he seems to know that Congress is considering to start working on their own without having any involvement from the President. According to a report by the New York Times titled: "McConnell, in Private, Doubts if Trump Can Save Presidency", McConnell and the President had an angry exchange during a phone call on August 9 which makes this likely.
The call took place during the same week that McConnell made a statement at the Rotary Club in Kentucky, saying that the President had unrealistic expectations about passing certain legislation, saying that because Trump has not been in their line of work before that he was not familiar with the democratic process. The President reportedly spoke with McConnell and expressed his disappointment in the comment. When asked about this, McConnell's office downplayed the reports that there was any hostility.
McConnell also seems unsure as to how the President will continue to manage as he has and still be able to get results. There are yet some in Congress who are determined to try and implement President Trump's extremist agenda and, therefore, it's unknown what to expect from Republicans in Congress overall. With reports that there was infighting among moderates and the more extreme factions of the Republican Party, the difficulties of working with President Trump are hard to ignore.
