Recent White House missteps create rift with GOP legislators

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Tensions between Republican lawmakers and the White House have reached an all-time high, say Republicans on Capitol Hill.

President Bush's sagging poll numbers, the administration's handling of the Dubai port deal and lingering bad memories of Harriet Miers' failed Supreme Court nomination have left a broad spectrum of Republicans on Capitol Hill with little good will toward the White House.

"I was offended," Sen. Trent Lott, Mississippi Republican, said of Mr. Bush's threat last week to veto legislation aimed at stopping the transfer of port operations to a company owned by the United Arab Emirates. He said Mr. Bush "threatened me before I even knew the details of what was involved or whether I was going to vote for the bill or not."

Mr. Lott said his immediate reaction was: "OK, big boy, I'll just vote to override your veto."

He called the White House, he said, to advise administration officials that they'd run afoul of some of their strongest allies in Congress.

"Don't threaten me like that again," said the former majority leader, recounting the conversation with an official he declined to name. "It doesn't make a difference if you're a Republican or a Democrat. Don't put your fist in my face. Where I'm from, we're willing to fight back."

In both the House and Senate, Republicans say they've never seen relations with the Bush administration more strained.

"This has been a tipping point for the relationship between the White House and Capitol Hill," said one House Republican staffer. "No longer will Republicans simply fall into line on major issues when they disagree with the president."

A senior Republican leadership aide added that the administration's slow response to Hurricane Katrina didn't help matters.

"This episode shows that they didn't learn anything from the Katrina and Harriet Miers flare-ups," the staffer said. "There needs to be a sharper political acumen applied to their communication efforts, and someone has to start finding the backbone to stand up among senior staff and say, 'Hey, there's a problem looming here' before everything hits the fan."