Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania) and Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) have reportedly diverged from President Trump more frequently than many of their Republican colleagues on Capitol Hill, according to a recent analysis.
The study also highlighted that Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine), and Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) commonly oppose Trump’s policies, while Representatives Andy Biggs (R-Arizona) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) generally align closely with the administration.
This analysis was conducted by researchers at the Institute for Legislative Analysis (ILA), which is associated with a conservative group advocating for smaller government.
The aim was to revive the Trump Score, a metric measuring how much lawmakers followed Trump’s policies during his first term. Originally launched in 2017 by FiveThirtyEight, this tool was dismantled earlier this year by ABC News, part of Walt Disney Company.
ILA not only updated the rankings but also broadened their scope by examining a wider array of votes, encompassing bills, amendments, and procedural motions that put lawmakers on record. They matched these votes to Trump’s “America First” platform introduced at the 2024 Republican National Convention alongside his stated policy preferences.
The organization believes these additional insights will clarify which Congressional members align closely with Trump and which do not.
“The media tends to spotlight high-profile bills and key votes, which can create the impression that members of both parties uniformly support or oppose Trump and his policies,” said ILA CEO Ryan McGowan. “By including often-ignored procedural and amendment votes, we reveal that, despite claims, many members’ voting records don’t consistently reflect the America First policies they espouse on the campaign trail and in the media.”
According to their findings, Fitzpatrick had the lowest rate of supporting Trump among Republicans, voting in accordance with him just 51.37% of the time. Wicker followed at 55.07%, while Murkowski, Collins, and McConnell had rates of 55.71%, 56.34%, and 59.15%, respectively.
Interestingly, Republicans who frequently broke with Trump often did so over issues related to government spending.
Among Trump’s staunchest supporters, Biggs voted in favor of Trump’s policy positions 97.27% of the time, followed closely by Lee at 97.10% and Kansas Senator Roger Marshall at 97.01%. Other notable supporters include Texas Congressman Chip Roy and Oklahoma Congressman Josh Brechen.
On the Democratic side, moderate members from competitive districts often cast votes in support of Trump. Notably, Representative Marie Grusenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) did so 49.86% of the time, trailed by Representatives Jared Golden (Maine) and Henry Cuellar (Texas).
Analysts discovered that Democrats were more inclined to side with Trump on issues related to foreign policy and civil liberties, such as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
In contrast, Trump’s most vocal critics were predominantly from the party’s progressive wing. Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia) voted in alignment with Trump only 3.17% of the time, followed by Congressman Hank Johnson (D-Georgia) and Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) at around 4.17% each.
