Pushed to the limit, Republicans show rare defiance to Trump's demands

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche arrives for a closed-door meeting with Republican senators, who later abandoned a proposal for $1 billion in security money for the White House complex and President Donald Trump's ballroom after it failed to win enough party support, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The day arrived when the Senate just said, No.

President Donald Trump’s political revenge tour met its potential match this week as angry, upset Republican senators, pushed to a breaking point by his seemingly insatiable and outlandish demands — particularly a $1.776 billion fund for Jan. 6 rioters and others he believes were wrongly prosecuted — did the unthinkable.

They simply refused, closed up shop, and went home.