The White House’s posture represents a remarkable change for an administration that has often put Trump’s priorities ahead of what would be politically advantageous to Republicans in tight elections.

The White House is in triage mode. Six weeks until the midterm elections, administration officials are pulling policy levers they otherwise might not to help vulnerable Republicans in key congressional races. They’re weighing a 90-day ban on diesel exports in an effort to drive down energy prices, considering backpedaling on a plan to import foreign beef and giving candidates wiggle room to criticize a war with Iran that President Donald Trump continues to stress was necessary to prevent the country from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Trump, never shy about attacking Republicans who disagree with him, has recently swallowed dissent so long as candidates criticize his policies and not him personally. Some campaigns are even giving the White House a heads up before staking out positions different from the president’s.

Trump, never shy about attacking Republicans who disagree with him, has recently swallowed dissent so long as candidates criticize his policies and not him personally. Some campaigns are even giving the White House a heads up before staking out positions different from the president’s.

“More often times than not, a candidate or an elected official will call the White House and ask how to do it, because they are not interested in going against the president,” said one person familiar with the White House’s thinking, who like others in this story was granted anonymity to describe private conversations.

The White House’s latest posture represents a remarkable change for an administration that in its decisionmaking has often put Trump’s priorities ahead of what would be politically advantageous to Republicans in tight elections. But inside the West Wing, a new reality — informed in part by polling — has taken hold as the administration grapples with far more competitive races than had been expected only a few months ago. “They’re doing everything they can, politically and policy-wise, to help. Since so many races are very close, and rated as toss-ups by the pundits, literally, in 40 days you can move the numbers,” said John McLaughlin, a longtime Trump pollster whose firm is polling for the White House, Republican National Committee and Trump super PACs. “Moving voter opinions even a little bit can win many close races.” Trump, who regularly demands loyalty and often chides his party for not sticking together, has remained uncharacteristically quiet even as several Republican senators have criticized his policies on Iran and immigration enforcement. When Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar cut a direct-to-camera ad speaking directly to Trump criticizing his immigration policy, he spoke with her on the phone about it instead of taking to Truth Social to excoriate her.

“[Trump] understands the whole gambit. He gets the whole concept. He gets the environment,” the person familiar said. “He gets these people are fighting alongside him more than people credit them for.” One former Trump administration official called the ability to criticize the policy without lambasting the man the “safe space.”

“They criticize staff. They criticize implementation,” the person said. “It hasn’t been ‘Trump failed’ or ‘Trump’s wrong.’” Asked for comment, White House officials called the reporting that the administration is considering a 90-day diesel export ban and reversing a decision to import foreign beef “fake news.” They touted a long list of accomplishments on more than a dozen topics, including net negative migration for the first time in decades, the lowest homicide rate in 125 years and rising wages coupled with a record low poverty rate.

“President Trump is the unequivocal leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party, and he is committed to maintaining Republican majorities in Congress,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement, calling the president’s agenda “common sense.” And candidates are campaigning on plenty of policies endorsed by the president, including a possible congressional stock trading ban, the president’s efforts to ensure transparency in health care pricing and cracking down on fraud in government programs. Many also tout the president’s tax cuts and the new Trump accounts for kids.

“President Trump is the unequivocal leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party, and he is committed to maintaining Republican majorities in Congress,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement, calling the president’s agenda “common sense.” And candidates are campaigning on plenty of policies endorsed by the president, including a possible congressional stock trading ban, the president’s efforts to ensure transparency in health care pricing and cracking down on fraud in government programs. Many also tout the president’s tax cuts and the new Trump accounts for kids.

But as the election nears, some Republicans feel they need to go further to show they empathize with voters’ frustration with high prices. “Everybody is doing what they need to do to ensure that their campaign is in the best position possible, and you will see folks within Trump world just recognize that and allow it to happen,” said a person familiar with the thinking of Trump’s political team. The White House, too, is considering new efforts to show voters they are working on addressing their cost-of-living concerns. Trump said he favors a diesel export ban even as Energy Secretary Chris Wright said it wouldn’t work and could even drive up gas and jet fuel prices. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also oppose the idea, but the political realities of near-record prices appear to be winning out. The average price for a gallon of diesel is $6.51, according to AAA,up from $3.69 one year ago. The impact is hurting farmers in the Midwest and threatening to further raise food prices, not to mention pinching virtually every other industry that uses heavy trucks to move goods around the country.

The White House, too, is considering new efforts to show voters they are working on addressing their cost-of-living concerns. Trump said he favors a diesel export ban even as Energy Secretary Chris Wright said it wouldn’t work and could even drive up gas and jet fuel prices. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also oppose the idea, but the political realities of near-record prices appear to be winning out. The average price for a gallon of diesel is $6.51, according to AAA,up from $3.69 one year ago. The impact is hurting farmers in the Midwest and threatening to further raise food prices, not to mention pinching virtually every other industry that uses heavy trucks to move goods around the country.

In another nod to farm-state Republicans, a small group of White House officials is exploring whether to cut back Trump’s decision to increase foreign beef imports. The president proposed the plan in August, likely too late to meaningfully impact prices on the shelves but in plenty of time to enrage ranchers already dealing with higher input costs, in part because of the war in Iran. “These are triage things, and none of them are remarkable in the annals of politics. Republicans are in a difficult position,” said Democratic strategist David Axelrod. “I always looked at the other side for indications of how they thought the race was going … these guys are not acting like guys who don’t believe this is going to be a really tough year.” The president’s approval ratings have sunk to record lows, and 53% of Americans say groceries costs are among the most challenging items to afford, followed by 39% who say housing costs and 35% who say utility bills, according to a September POLITICO Poll.

“These are triage things, and none of them are remarkable in the annals of politics. Republicans are in a difficult position,” said Democratic strategist David Axelrod. “I always looked at the other side for indications of how they thought the race was going … these guys are not acting like guys who don’t believe this is going to be a really tough year.” The president’s approval ratings have sunk to record lows, and 53% of Americans say groceries costs are among the most challenging items to afford, followed by 39% who say housing costs and 35% who say utility bills, according to a September POLITICO Poll.

Now, instead of a narrow focus on a handful of key Senate races in Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire and Ohio, Republicans have had to widen their aperture to states that Trump won by double-digits in 2024. Recent polls have Iowa Senate candidate Ashley Hinson and Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan trailing their Democratic opponents outside of the margin of error, while Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton is running neck-and-neck with Democrat James Talarico in Texas.

“Every Republican I talk with thinks there is a slim chance things get any better — but huge concern they could get significantly worse,” said Matthew Bartlett, a former Trump administration appointee and GOP strategist. “A lot of their policies — whether it’s the tariffs, whether it’s the immigration, spending more — are not just unpopular or ineffective, but they have backfired.”