Trump is expanding the battlefield of his Republican civil war. That might backfire.

This is an adapted excerpt from the May 20 episode of “The Briefing with Jen Psaki.”

So, let me just acknowledge that what I’m about to say is going to seem like a very weird place to start — but I promise you it is relevant to one of the biggest stories in Washington this week.

Last year, Jacqui Heinrich, a White House reporter for Fox News, got engaged to Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. Fitzpatrick popped the question in a lavender field in France, and Heinrich posted a photo to social media to share the news shortly after. Very adorable.

Now, why am I telling you all this? Because on Wednesday, that Fox News reporter tried to ask Donald Trump a pretty straightforward question about whether he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But instead of answering Heinrich’s question, Trump took the opportunity to attack Fitzpatrick. “Her husband votes against me all the time. Can you imagine? I don’t know what’s with him. You better ask him what’s with him.”

OK, first off, Fitzpatrick is not Heinrich’s husband yet — they’re getting married later this spring — but that’s beside the point. The point here is that Trump is making not-so-veiled threats aimed at members of his own party who have the audacity to vote against his agenda.

Inside Trump’s mind palace, he believes he’s riding high after he ousted a string of Republican incumbents in recent primaries, including Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

The president clearly feels great about all the members of his own party he has managed to take out. Now he’s expanding the battlefield of his Republican civil war, threatening not just lawmakers in ruby-red districts but also Republicans like Fitzpatrick, who represents a crucial swing district the GOP is desperately trying to hold on to this November.

So how did Fitzpatrick take Trump’s not-so-veiled threat? Did he cower in fear of a president who is bragging about the foes he has taken out from his own party?

Well, just a few hours later, when asked about Trump’s new $1.776 billion “slush fund” for his allies, the congressman told reporters he had “bad news” for the president.

“We’re going to try and kill it,” he said. “We’re considering legislative options. We’re going to write a letter to the AG to start but we’re considering a legislative option. We’re trying to unpack exactly what the legal machinations are, but you can’t do that.”

So Fitzpatrick does not sound at all scared of Trump’s threats.

But before you give him a Profile in Courage Award, you should know that Fitzpatrick represents a district that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won in 2020 and 2024, respectively. He knows that no matter how much Trump thumps his chest, no matter how many times he threatens him, the people he really has to fear are the general-election voters in his district.

That’s almost certainly why Fitzpatrick sent a letter Wednesday to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, demanding answers about Trump’s new “anti-weaponization fund.”

Fitzpatrick isn’t just some random member of Congress trying to pick a fight with Trump. He sits on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which has oversight of the IRS, so he will have ample opportunities to demand more answers about this fund.

And the thing is, he isn’t the only member of the president’s party who doesn’t seem scared by Trump’s threats. Republicans in the Senate are preparing to strip the taxpayer money for Trump’s very unpopular ballroom project out of their latest funding bill.

The president had pressured Senate Majority Leader John Thune to take drastic measures to force that funding through, demanding he fire the Senate parliamentarian so they could override the rules of Congress. But Thune refused.

However, even if he had, the funding for the ballroom would still likely not have made it into the package because Trump still apparently doesn’t have enough support from members of his own party.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told reporters, “This one is not the parliamentarian’s fault; the votes aren’t there, plainly and simply.”

So, aside from the fact that it feels like a politically insane thing to vote for, why aren’t Republicans falling in line with Trump’s ballroom project?

Well, according to Politico, the mood over the president’s ballroom soured Tuesday amid anger over his decision to endorse Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the upcoming GOP Senate primary runoff in Texas.

It seems Trump’s attempts to assert power over his party are backfiring — with his slush fund, with his ballroom and even with his war.

Just two days after Trump ousted Cassidy in his primary, the senator broke ranks and cast the deciding vote to move forward with a resolution to rein in the president’s war in Iran. That measure now appears likely to pass the Senate and be sent over to the House.

These are all a part of a pattern of Trump’s attempts at retribution against people in his own party backfiring, and no one but the president and his closest sycophants thinks he is operating from a position of power.

As one anonymous senior operative for Senate Republicans told Politico:

Those so-called victories over the last couple weeks are just a mirage. They are self-owns. We’re not actually beating Democrats, and we’re not actually advancing legislation. Instead, gas is up 45% due to our actions and the President’s decision to go to war with Iran. He’s focused on the ballroom. He’s announced a $1.8 billion restitution fund with zero details or congressional authority to do so. It just is crazy.

It’s clear that the backlash against the president and his unpopular policies are growing by the day. Even Republicans are starting to understand how bad this looks for them.

The question now is: Is there enough outrage and momentum for Congress to actually stop it?

Allison Detzel contributed.

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