2026年2月12日，美国东部时间凌晨5:00 / 《华盛顿邮报》
一小撮众议院共和党人反对总统的关税政策，而其他共和党议员则公开支持处境艰难的特朗普政府官员。
唐纳德·特朗普总统在2月6日离开白宫前向记者发表讲话。 （Craig Hudson/《华盛顿邮报》拍摄）
保罗·凯恩专栏
在不到48小时的时间里，国会共和党人向摆脱唐纳德·特朗普总统的控制迈出了一小步，随后又后退了两三步。
周二晚些时候，众议院共和党人中的一小部分——仅三名共和党人——展示了他们的力量，为阻止特朗普关税的投票开辟了道路。周三晚上，六名众议院共和党人与213名民主党人联合投票成功，如果该法案通过，将取消特朗普对加拿大的关税。
然而，就在这些共和党人投票反对特朗普的一项标志性政策时，他们的共和党同僚却在有争议的委员会听证会上公开支持一对处境艰难的内阁领导人。
这次微小的众议院反抗，加上对特朗普高级官员的捍卫，可能成为证明在国会山的共和党盟友中，对特朗普支持的大坝出现裂缝的危险这一论点的例证。
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自去年年初以来，政治氛围已经发生了变化。当时，针对不听话的共和党人的公开和私下威胁，挽救了内阁提名人免于潜在失败。许多共和党人现在意识到，在去年秋天民主党在关键州长竞选中大胜之后，以及共和党人在州立法机构特别选举中再次陷入困境，他们正处于何等严峻的政治境地。
特朗普不受欢迎，美国人对经济感到沮丧，如果不调整策略，大多数共和党人意识到，11月的中期选举可能会非常残酷。
但几乎没有人愿意与特朗普拉开距离，即使这样做可能对他们的选举有利。他们害怕成为政治目标——就像众议员托马斯·马西（R-肯塔基州）那样。
马西本周在关税投票中继续成为政府的眼中钉，他联合推动了一项成功的行动，迫使公布与定罪性犯罪者杰弗里·爱泼斯坦相关的调查文件，这激怒了特朗普。他在投票中一次又一次地与自己的政党决裂，现在正面临春季初选挑战一位特朗普支持的对手。
在周二的初步关税投票中，马西只得到了两名共和党人的支持：内布拉斯加州众议员唐·培根和加利福尼亚州众议员凯文·基利。两人都有特殊情况，可以对特朗普不屑一顾。
培根在内布拉斯加州东部连续五次艰难选举获胜后，决定退休，而不是继续留在众议院共和党核心会议中。这个核心会议越来越反对他从小支持的传统里根-布什精神。基利也来自摇摆选区，当众议院议长迈克·约翰逊（R-路易斯安那州）和白宫官员推动得克萨斯州和其他保守州重新绘制国会选区地图时，他感到被抛弃了——这促使加利福尼亚州和其他自由派州效仿，实际上摧毁了他在萨克拉门托郊区的选区。
培根、马西和基利三人希望他们代表了相当多同样憎恨关税政策但周二在程序性投票中太害怕挑战党内领导层的绵羊般的共和党人。
然而，当民主党人周三提出几个旨在废除关税的动议中的第一个时，共和党三人组只找到了三名更多的共和党人愿意反对特朗普和领导层，这让民主党人以219-211的罕见优势获胜。（由于共和党只有218名成员，约翰逊只能容忍一次马西式的叛逃才能赢得党内一致投票。）
当然，这些大多是象征性的投票，因为即使参议院通过了同样的法案，特朗普肯定会否决该立法。而周三的接近投票显示，特朗普仍然拥有足够多的共和党支持来维持对否决的推翻尝试（这需要三分之二多数）。
尽管如此，像培根这样的共和党人希望有机会以任何可能的方式公开反对不受欢迎的关税政策，而民主党人将在未来几周继续提出这些关税投票。
“太长时间以来，我们将这项权力交给了行政部门。现在是国会收回这一责任的时候了，”培根在周二投票后在社交媒体上写道。
民主党人计划将支持关税的几十名共和党现任议员（来自摇摆选区）转化为广告，称他们支持通过特朗普的关税提高成本。
“这是脆弱的众议院共和党人史诗般的误判，”民主党国会竞选委员会发言人贾斯汀·切尔莫尔在周三给记者的备忘录中写道。
街对面的委员会听证室里，共和党人完全支持政府。
商务部部长霍华德·卢特尼克出现在参议院拨款委员会的一个小组面前。他本应讨论商务部宽带计划的实施情况。但最近几天，司法部发布的文件显示，卢特尼克与爱泼斯坦的接触比他之前承认的要多。
去年在一个保守派播客中，卢特尼克说他于2005年认识了曼哈顿邻居爱泼斯坦，他觉得和爱泼斯坦在一起很不舒服，之后就没有再联系。最近公布的文件显示，他2012年访问了爱泼斯坦的私人岛屿（当时这位金融家因涉嫌招募未成年人而认罪四年后）；又访问了他的公寓；并多次给爱泼斯坦发消息。
民主党人就这些会面质问卢特尼克，部长承认了这些会面，但表示在14年间只有三次会面，而且他从未看到任何不当行为。
“我们在岛上吃了午饭。这是事实。持续了一个小时。然后我们带着所有的孩子离开了，”他告诉委员会成员。
然而，该小组的共和党人完全回避了爱泼斯坦的问题，转而关注他职权范围内的宽带或其他政策问题。
在国会大厦的走廊里，去年投票确认卢特尼克提名的参议院商务委员会成员发现自己面临关于他地位的质疑。卢特尼克是美国最资深的任命官员之一，在相关文件中；他的许多有 Epstein 关联的欧洲同行被迫辞职，在某些情况下，他们的任命还导致其政党面临政治问题。
共和党人没有急于为卢特尼克辩护，但也没有抱怨新发现的他与爱泼斯坦接触的信息让他们措手不及。大多数时候，他们回避了关于他与已故金融家关系的问题。
“给我的新闻办公室打电话，”该小组主席特德·克鲁兹参议员（R-得克萨斯州）周二说。
“所以你的问题是，这会困扰我吗？我认为可以说这会引发疑问，我相信会有人在这里找到一些答案，”该小组资深成员、前主席罗杰·韦克参议员（R-密西西比州）说。
“我的工作人员说我因为昨天说的话而有麻烦了，所以我不会再谈论爱泼斯坦了，”辛西娅·卢米斯参议员（R-怀俄明州）说，她一天前告诉记者“现在我明白这有什么大不了的”关于要求更多关于爱泼斯坦信息的呼吁。
最严厉的评论来自北卡罗来纳州共和党参议员汤姆·蒂利斯，他不在商务委员会，但在宣布自己退休计划后，过去一个月一直批评许多特朗普助手。
即便如此，蒂利斯也不会要求卢特尼克辞职。
“我不会谈论他的工作，但我认为他如果能确切说明他们之间似乎是一段有趣关系的过程中发生了什么以及没有发生什么，对他自己会有好处，”他告诉记者。
周三，众议院共和党人有机会为一名内阁秘书辩护，当时司法部长帕姆·邦迪出现在众议院司法委员会面前。就在前一天，司法部检察官未能对六名民主党人提起诉讼，因为他们去年发布了一段讨论士兵是否能够不服从上级非法命令的视频，随后传来消息，司法部检察官未能对他们提起诉讼。
她的听证会还在司法部未能遵守去年几乎一致通过的一项法律之后举行，该法律要求公布所有联邦调查爱泼斯坦的文件。
邦迪受到众议院共和党人的热烈欢迎。
“一年时间带来了多大的变化。司法部回到了它的核心使命——维护法治，打击坏人，保护美国人的安全，”委员会主席、俄亥俄州共和党众议员吉姆·乔丹说。
马西也在委员会中，并就爱泼斯坦文件问题与邦迪发生冲突。
司法部长驳斥了他，称他是一个“失败的政治家”，患有“特朗普错乱综合征”，即对总统的非理性仇恨。
A little Republican rebellion against Trump only goes so far
February 12, 2026 at 5:00 a.m. EST / The Washington Post
A tiny bloc of House Republicans opposed the president’s tariff policy, while GOP lawmakers backed up embattled Trump officials.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before leaving the White House on Feb. 6. (Craig Hudson/For the Washington Post)
Column by Paul Kane
In a span of less than 48 hours, Republicans in Congress took a small step toward declaring some independence from President Donald Trump, before retreating a step or three.
Late Tuesday, a tiny fraction of the House GOP — just three Republicans — flexed its muscle, opening the way for votes aimed at stopping Trump’s tariffs. And Wednesday evening, six House Republicans joined arms with 213 Democrats on a successful vote that, if enacted, would knock out Trump’s tariffs on Canada.
Yet as these Republicans were voting against one of Trump’s signature policies, their fellow GOP lawmakers were publicly backing up a pair of embattled Cabinet leaders in contentious committee hearings.
The tiny House rebellion, coupled with the defense of top Trump officials, could serve as Exhibit A in a case on the danger of over-reading cracks in the dam of support for Trump among his Republican allies on Capitol Hill.
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The vibes have shifted since early last year, when public and private threats against wayward Republicans rescued Cabinet nominees from potential defeat. Many Republicans now recognize what dire political straits they are in after last fall’s Democratic romp in key governor’s races, followed by more GOP floundering in special elections for state legislatures.
Trump is not popular, Americans are frustrated about the economy, and without a course correction, most Republicans realize that November’s midterm elections could be brutal.
But very few are willing to put any distance between themselves and Trump, even if doing so might help them electorally. They fear getting politically targeted — like Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) was.
Massie, who continued to be a thorn in the administration’s side this week on the tariff votes, drew Trump’s ire when he co-led a successful push to force the release of investigative files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He’s broken with his party time and again on votes and is now headed for spring primary challenge against a Trump-backed opponent.
On Tuesday’s initial tariff vote, Massie was joined by just two Republicans: Reps. Don Bacon (Nebraska) and Kevin Kiley (California). Both have unique circumstances that allow them to thumb their nose at Trump.
Bacon, after winning five straight tough elections in eastern Nebraska, has decided to retire rather than continuing in a House Republican Conference that is increasingly opposed to the sort of traditional Reagan-Bush ethos that he grew up supporting. Kiley, also from a swing district, felt abandoned by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and White House officials when they pushed Texas and other conservative states to draw new congressional maps — which prompted California and other liberal states to do the same, effectively obliterating his suburban Sacramento district.
Together, Bacon, Massie and Kiley hoped they were speaking out on behalf of quite a few sheepish Republicans who also despised the tariff policy but were too afraid to take on the party’s leadership on Tuesday’s procedural vote.
Yet when Democrats called up the first of several proposed tariff-busting votes Wednesday, the GOP trio found only three more Republicans willing to oppose Trump and leadership, giving Democrats a rare win, 219-211. (With just 218 Republican members, Johnson can afford only one Massie-style defection and win a party-line vote.)
Of course, these are mostly symbolic votes, because even if the same bill passed the Senate, Trump would certainly veto the legislation. And as Wednesday’s close vote showed, Trump retains more than enough Republican support to sustain a veto override attempt (which requires a two-thirds majority).
Still, Republicans like Bacon want the chance to register their public opposition to the unpopular tariff policyin any way possible, and Democrats will continue to offer up these tariff votes in the weeks ahead.
“For too long, we have handed that authority to the executive branch. It’s time for Congress to reclaim that responsibility,” Bacon wrote on social media after his Tuesday vote.
Democrats plan to turn the votes supporting tariffs by a couple dozen GOP incumbents in swing districts into ads saying they support higher costs through Trump’s tariffs.
“This was an epic miscalculation by vulnerable House Republicans,” Justin Chermol, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, wrote in a Wednesday memo to reporters.
Across the street, in committee hearing rooms, Republicans fell in line with the administration.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was on the Hill, appearing before a panel of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He was supposed to be talking about the implementation of Commerce’s broadband program. But in recent days, documents released by the Justice Department have revealed that Lutnick had more encounters with Epstein than the secretary previously acknowledged.
On a conservative podcast last year, Lutnick said that he met Epstein, a neighbor in Manhattan, in 2005, that he felt uncomfortable around him and that he had no further contact after that. The recently released documents indicated that he visited Epstein on a private island in 2012, four years after the financier pleaded guilty to charges of soliciting a minor; made another visit to his apartment; and messaged Epstein on several occasions.
Democrats pressed Lutnick on these meetings, and the secretary acknowledged them, while saying that there were just three meetings over 14 years and that he never saw anything untoward happen.
“We had lunch on the island. That is true. For an hour. And we left with all of my children,” he told the committee members.
Republicans on that panel steered entirely away from the Epstein matter, however, and focused on broadband or other policy issues in his portfolio.
In the hallways of the Capitol, members of the Senate Commerce Committee, who voted to confirm Lutnick’s nomination last year, found themselves facing questions about his standing. Lutnick is among the most senior appointed U.S. officials present in the files; many of his European counterparts with Epstein connections have been forced to resign, and in some cases, their appointments have led to political problems for their parties.
Republicans did not rush out to defend Lutnick, but they also did not complain about being blindsided by the new information about his encounters with Epstein. Mostly, they ducked questions about his connections to the late financier.
“Call my press office,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the panel’s chair, said Tuesday.
“So your question is, would it trouble me? I think it’s fair to say it would raise questions, and I’m sure there will be people who will obtain some answers here,” said Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), a senior member of the panel who once served as chair.
“My staff says I’m in trouble for what I said yesterday, so I’m not going to talk about Epstein anymore,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), who a day earlier told a reporter “now I see what the big deal is”about calls for more information about Epstein.
The toughest comments came from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), who is not on the Commerce Committee but who, after announcing his own retirement plans, has been critical of many Trump aides the past month.
Even so, Tillis would not call for Lutnick’s resignation.
“I’m not going to talk about his job, but I think he would do himself a service by just laying out exactly what and what did not happen over the course of their, what seems to be an interesting relationship,” he told reporters.
On Wednesday, House Republicans had their opportunity to defend a Cabinet secretary when Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared before the House Judiciary Committee. She came the morning after news broke that her Justice Department prosecutors failed to get indictments against six Democrats for a video they released last year discussing troops’ ability to disobey illegal orders from superior officers.
Her session also came in the wake of the department’s failure to adhere to a nearly unanimously approved law last year calling for the release of all files for federal investigations into Epstein.
Bondi received a warm welcome from House Republicans.
“What a difference a year makes. The DOJ has returned to its core missions — upholding the rule of law, going after the bad guys and keeping Americans safe,” said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the committee’s chair.
Massie is on the committee and clashed with Bondi over the Epstein files.
The attorney general dismissed him, calling him a “failed politician” with “Trump derangement syndrome,” meaning an irrational hatred of the president.
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