Buoyed by defeating Republicans at the ballot box he deemed disloyal to him, President Donald Trump is “almost maniacally focused” on doing whatever he wants, despite the very real potential consequence that could lead to the GOP losing majority control of the House and possibly the Senate in November, Punchbowl News reports.

“Trump appears to have all but given up any pretense that he’s concerned about the increasingly fragile Republican majorities on Capitol Hill,” according to Punchbowl.

It’s not just congressional seats the president is risking, it’s the support of voters who have already given him dismal poll numbers on everything from the economy to the war in Iran.

Voters are facing tremendous health care bills, rising food costs, and a roughly fifty-percent increase at the gas pumps.

“As gas prices skyrocket due to the unpopular war in Iran, Trump says it’s a ‘very small price to pay’ as long as he believes the conflict is proceeding to his liking,” Punchbowl noted.

And the president is often focused on the White House ballroom he now calls “my gift to the United States of America.” He has yet to secure the $1 billion in funding for the security enhancements he is touting.

On Tuesday, Trump held a press conference with pool reporters, going over very specific details including revealing that the ballroom is a “shield” for a military complex underneath, which will go six stories deep. The ballroom, the president detailed, will be constructed of drone-proof glass and steel.

“Regardless of your views about the necessity of White House renovations,” Punchbowl noted, “it doesn’t take a political wiz to come to the conclusion that now might not be the best time to brag about building a plush ballroom.”

The administration this week unveiled the president’s $1.776 billion fund that will compensate alleged victims of Justice Department “weaponization” by the Biden administration. Punchbowl reports even some Republicans were “shocked.”

The president is moving forward with his Triumphal Arch in Washington, D.C., which may cost taxpayers millions. That’s on top of the millions he is spending to resurface the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall.

On Tuesday, the White House revealed the administration is managing “dozens” of construction projects in D.C. Punchbowl noted the administration is renovating what will become a championship golf course, and is putting the president’s name and face on several federal government buildings.

Trump is also removing thousands of troops from Europe, building “Trump battleships,” and “even letting his Defense secretary campaign against one of the president’s political opponents” — something experts say is highly unusual, especially while the nation is at war.

“Trump now has a Senate Republican Conference that includes two senators he targeted for defeat, plus a handful of vulnerable Republicans who are simply hoping to survive the midterms,” Punchbowl observed. “Getting to 51 will be very difficult for the rest of 2026.”

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A GOP senator Trump successfully ousted is now costing him a vote for his ballroom.

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who just days ago lost his primary race to a Trump-endorsed Republican, says he’s a no on the $1 billion the administration is asking for security upgrades to the $400 million ballroom.

Cassidy had voted to convict Trump in his 2021 impeachment trial, and the president responded by endorsing his opponent.

“I just know where I am on the ballroom,” Cassidy said Tuesday afternoon, according to Semafor congressional bureau chief Burgess Everett.

The two-term Republican challenged the administration’s building process.

“They’ve not put out a bid, they’ve not done architectural, they’ve not done engineering, they’ve not done environmental, they haven’t done any of that, they’ve not done historic, which I’m sure they’re meant to do,” he said. “And so they don’t know how much money they should ask for, but they picked a number.”

“That’s not the way to run the government,” Cassidy added. “So they just want a pot of money, and I think they need to give us more detail.”

The Senate is expected to vote on Wednesday on reconciliation legislation that originally was slated to include the $1 billion funding for the Secret Service, which includes the security enhancements.

Cassidy is “noncommittal” on the reconciliation bill itself as well, Everett noted.

Senate Republicans, Politico’s Jordain Carney reports, are “currently short of the votes to include East Wing/ballroom security funding in their reconciliation bill.”

Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune, when asked about funding the $1 billion, appeared to focus his attention on the main aspects of the legislation.

“The principal objective in this reconciliation bill is to ensure that ICE and CBP are funded,” he said.

The president took time on Tuesday to share specific details about the ballroom and the security construction with reporters.

“All of these columns, they go directly right to the roof of the building,” Trump said of the ballroom in remarks to the press pool. “And again, we call it a drone port. It’s set up for unlimited numbers of drones.”

“When this is finished,” he said, “my term ends shortly after that. This is really for other presidents, this is not for me. This is my gift to the United States of America. I’m going to be able to use it very little.”

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President Donald Trump praised a CNN analyst who has repeatedly highlighted his sinking poll numbers — a striking turn given his long battle with the network.

On the same day that CNN data analyst Harry Enten asked of the president’s poll numbers, “How low can you go?” Trump called him an “honorable guy” who gives “the good and the bad,” as The Daily Beast reported.

“Mr. President,” a reporter asked on Tuesday, “why is the establishment media claiming so desperately that MAGA is divided?”

“Well, I think it’s the strongest it’s ever been,” Trump replied. “I think MAGA’s never been more together, actually.”

Noting that Enten has called Trump’s poll numbers “downright atrocious” and some of “the ugliest numbers” he has ever seen, The Daily Beast reported that Trump “proceeded to launch into a rave review of Enten.”

“I mean, I appreciate the question because even CNN, they did a poll two, three weeks ago,” Trump continued. “They said Trump is at 100 percent.”

“That’s Harry Enten,” Trump said. “I like Harry Enten. You know, he’s got a lot of energy. I like him. But he did a poll and he’s a good pro. And he gives the good and the bad, but I think he’s an honorable guy. He did a lot of good.”

Back in March, Enten had declared Trump had unanimous approval among his MAGA base — even if he was falling among some conservatives.

“You don’t have to be a mathematical genius to know you can’t go higher than 100 percent,” Enten said. “The bottom line is this: if you are a member of MAGA, you approve of Donald Trump.”

Clearly that had stuck with the president.

“MAGA is most of the Republican Party,” Trump said on Tuesday. “The RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) are gone to a large extent.”

Last week, Enten also had bad news for the president.

“The bottom has completely fallen out when it comes to Donald Trump and Latino voters,” he said on Friday. Latino voters from 2024 “have abandoned him with the utmost, just, dislike of what he is doing so far — just 28 percent, a drop of 18 points.”

“Again, the bottom has just completely fallen out, and, of course, when you look across that political map, there are so many races that will be involving a lot of Latino voters, and when you see numbers like this, I just go, ‘Uh oh,’ if I am a Republican running for Congress,” he said.

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