Republicans forced to ‘follow the lemmings off the cliff’ for Trump: expert

This week, the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate will vote on its version of H.R. 1 — President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" — which extends tax cuts primarily benefiting the richest Americans and pays for it by drastically slashing social safety nets for the poorest Americans. One anti-Trump conservative is not optimistic that Republicans will buck the president, despite how much the bill may harm their constituents.

During a Monday segment on MSNBC's "Deadline: White House," commentator Charlie Sykes listed three reasons he believes Republicans will ultimately vote in favor of the bill's passage: "They're afraid of Donald Trump, they're afraid of failure and they're afraid of Donald Trump." According to Sykes, Trump making the bill "the cornerstone of his agenda" means Republicans know they have no choice but to vote to pass it or else risk Trump's wrath.

"They know that that it's the mother of all crap sandwiches, but they have to eat it," he said.

"Because this 900-page bill is must-pass in Trumpworld, they have to swallow everything and they know what it's going to be like going out and trying to explain these massive cuts in health care, pushing millions of people off health care, raising taxes on on various industries," he continued. "And the reality is that the speed with which this is being done and the lack of transparency with which this is being done, also means that we're going to have a lot of surprises. We're going to find out what's in this bill afterwards."

The bill's future remains uncertain as of Monday, with Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) considered firmly on the "no" side. This means that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) can only afford to lose one more Republican vote if he hopes to pass it through the chamber with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance. Tillis has since announced he will no longer be seeking another term in the Senate due to his opposition to Trump's signature domestic policy legislation.

"Donald Trump has demanded this. And as we're seeing it, as Thom Tillis belatedly recognized, there's no room for opposition," Sykes said. "There's no room for compromise. There's no room for independence or dissent. They all have to follow the lemmings off the cliff, because to be a Republican these days means that you have to vote for something like this."

Sykes added that the bill would prove to be a "political liability" in the 2026 midterm elections, particularly for Republicans who have reputations as fiscal hawks. He specifically predicted that even the most fiscally conservative Republicans would cave and vote for the bill due to Trump's threats.

Watch the segment below, or by clicking this link.