‘Bands of individuals who can’t stand each other’: Republicans are torn into by the Democratic leader

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries continues to needle at growing Republican divisions, portraying the GOP as a fractured party unable to deliver on their ambitious agenda for Donald Trump’s first 100 days back in office.

“The Republican conference is filled with marauding bands of individuals who can’t stand each other,” Jeffries said during his weekly press conference, contrasting what he somewhat disingenuously called Democratic unity with apparent Republican discord. Not for nothing, but his team has their own issues to contend with.

The Democratic leader’s remarks land as Republicans grapple with executing Trump’s agenda through a razor-thin House majority. With only a two-vote cushion, Speaker Mike Johnson faces the complex task of uniting various GOP factions behind a massive reconciliation package containing Trump’s priorities.

That unity already shows cracks. While Trump and Johnson push for “one big, beautiful bill” containing tax cuts, border security, and other measures, some conservatives bristle at both the strategy and substance. The package’s estimated $5 trillion price tag for tax cut extensions alone has fiscal hawks concerned. “I’m not going to say I’m going to create a ‘red line’ per se, but in general I came up here to cut spending. That’s my whole personal goal, to right-size government,” said Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.).

The fissures extend beyond policy to personal relationships. Trump publicly attacked Freedom Caucus member Rep. Chip Roy as “very unpopular” and an “obstructionist” during recent legislative battles. Though they later reconciled, the episode highlighted tensions between Trump and the party’s right flank.

Further complicating matters are key conservative members like Reps. Andy Biggs and Tim Burchett have never supported debt ceiling increases—a crucial component for whatever fiscal package the president-elect is hawking. This resistance comes as Trump’s team faces pushback from Freedom Caucus members over their overzealous approach to legislative negotiations, for which the faction appears suspicious.

Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) highlighted how the voting math wasn’t mathing, noting, “I heard that there are three people that will not vote for a debt ceiling lift, which already kills the bill.”

The notable divisions aren’t limited to the party’s Trump-loving wing. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and other relative moderates representing high-tax states are demanding changes to state and local tax deduction caps. It’s a move could further alienate fiscal conservatives by adding hundreds of billions to the deficit—something Republican constituents aren’t going to dig unless their lives are made tangibly better economically and pronto.

Jeffries seized on these divisions, mockingly questioning how Republicans would deliver with their “overwhelming majority.”

“It’s going to be interesting to see how Republicans, with their overwhelming majority in the House and the Senate and the overwhelming electoral mandate that they have, can get things done,” he said, his sarcasm evident. “That’s the situation in front of us. I look forward to the proposals that are put forth by my extreme [Make American Great Again] Republican colleagues to actually keep their word.” As Jeffries’ barbs suggest, Democrats see these Republican divisions as a potential anchor weighing down the GOP’s ambitious 100-day plans.