Republican criticism of Donald Trump has intensified as his administration faces mounting pressure over immigration enforcement, childhood vaccines, public spending and restrictions on White House media access ahead of the midterm elections.
Florida congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar said Hispanic voters who helped Mr Trump return to the White House in 2024 felt “betrayed” by his deportation policies, while Louisiana senator Bill Cassidy challenged the president’s claims about vaccines and condemned a proposed $5,000 payment to Americans.
The interventions came as fuel prices continued to rise, with diesel reaching record levels and the war with Iran entering its 200th day. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are due to be contested on November 3.
Ms Salazar, a former journalist, was also questioned about the decision to block journalists from CNN, Politico and MS NOW from entering the White House after Mr Trump objected to their reporting.
She declined to criticise the order, saying the president had “a different type of style” but remained accessible to the media. Asked whether excluding reporters because of their coverage breached the spirit of the First Amendment, she replied that Mr Trump would decide whom he wanted to speak to.
Republican criticism of Donald Trump over immigration
Ms Salazar said she had spoken directly to the president about immigration and urged him not to alienate Hispanic voters. “Please preserve that fortune that you have brought to the party,” she said she told him, referring to the support Mr Trump won from Hispanic voters.
She argued that the administration should distinguish between people involved in serious criminal activity and migrants working in agriculture, construction, hospitality, healthcare and manufacturing.
“The average American understands the difference between the narco and the nanny and the gangster and the gardener,” she said.
Ms Salazar said she believed some of Mr Trump’s advisers were compromising his legacy, but refused to identify individuals when asked about figures including Tom Homan and Stephen Miller. She said the president was the elected official responsible for deciding whose advice he followed.
She also defended Mr Trump’s planned meeting with Venezuela’s Delcy Rodriguez, describing her as a “necessary evil” needed to help stabilise the country before what she said should become a transition towards free elections.
Bill Cassidy challenges Trump on vaccines and spending
Mr Cassidy, a doctor and chairman of the Senate Health Committee, said the president’s proposal to divide childhood vaccines into five doses was unclear and demanded what he called “radical honesty” from the administration.
He said vaccines were safe and warned that discouraging immunisation could lead to more measles infections, hospital admissions and deaths. He also criticised Mr Trump’s description of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine as lethal, calling that claim unacceptable.
“The president should be saying: be vaccinated. It is safe and effective,” Mr Cassidy said.
He confirmed that he would support the president’s nominee for surgeon general after she told a committee that the vaccine was safe. But he warned that confused health messaging could damage Republicans with women, who he said made most healthcare decisions for their families.
Mr Cassidy also described the proposed $5,000 payment to Americans as inflationary, arguing that borrowing the money would increase the cost of mortgages, car loans and credit cards.
“If Joe Biden had proposed that, conservatives would have been all against it,” he said, adding that the US needed to address its national debt rather than expand borrowing.
The senator said he still wanted Congress to act on Social Security, arguing that reform could protect promised benefits and address a fifth of the country’s indebtedness.
The Republican concerns come as high energy costs weigh on the economy and the midterm elections draw closer. Former Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn said consumer confidence had become “quite negative”, despite relatively strong headline figures for employment, growth and spending.
