How Republicans Are Beginning to Diverge From Trump

WASHINGTON — For Senate Republicans, it’s now all about self-preservation.

As their grip on the Senate majority teeters while President Trump’s political standing plummets, their fate could well be determined by their ability to produce a sweeping pandemic recovery package before the election. But their frantic attempts to do so have so far produced little more than deep division in their ranks and with Mr. Trump — not the place they wanted to be 100 days out from a decisive race.

Their uncertain fortunes appear to have stiffened Republicans’ resolve to do something they rarely try: distance themselves, however gingerly, from Mr. Trump. They have jettisoned the president’s call for a payroll tax cut, drawing a resentful response from him on Twitter.

“The Democrats have stated strongly that they won’t approve a Payroll Tax Cut (too bad!)” Mr. Trump wrote, adding, “The Republicans, therefore, didn’t want to ask for it."

In truth, it was Republicans who were not interested in a tax cut they saw as ineffective.

They rejected the administration’s plan to omit money for coronavirus testing — an effort many senior Republicans see as crucial to reopening the country and stabilizing the economy — and to defund schools that fail to resume in-person classes in the fall. And on Thursday, they were resisting Mr. Trump’s attempts to use the measure as a vehicle to address one of his longtime obsessions: the F.B.I.’s Brutalist-style headquarters in downtown Washington, situated across the street from his luxury hotel.