Tensions rising between US Congress and President Donald Trump over policies

US President Donald Trump speaks as he stands next to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on November 10, 2016.

Tensions are rising between Republican lawmakers in the US Congress and President Donald Trump over his controversial immigration policy and a lack of progress on his legislative agenda.

Republicans are becoming more critical of Trump during a crucial time at the White House, when major decisions on taxes, healthcare and the budget need to be made. 

Some Republicans have become frustrated over Trump’s repeated praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin and criticism of a Republican-appointed federal judge who reversed the new president’s travel ban from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Several senior GOP senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have sought to put a distance between the policies and priorities of the Republican-led Congress and the Trump administration.

GOP critics have described Trump’s executive order banning the entry of citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries as “flawed” and “poorly implemented.”

Trump signed an executive order on January 27 that imposed a temporary travel ban on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and placed an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. The move also suspended admission of all refugees for 120 days.

On Saturday, Trump blasted US District Judge James Robart, a federal judge in Seattle, Washington, as a “so-called judge” for issuing a “ridiculous” decision against his order. Robart was appointed by former Republican President George W. Bush.

McConnell said it was “best to avoid criticizing judges individually,” and Senator Ben Sasse, an outspoken Trump critic during the presidential campaign, said, “We don’t have any so-called judges, just real judges.” 

Texas Senator John Cornyn, the second-highest ranking senator and a former member of the Texas Supreme Court, told reporters on Monday that he did not think it was appropriate to target the judge, although he did not agree with the court ruling suspending Trump’s travel ban

“Anytime you lose a decision in court it’s never fun, but I never felt like it ought to be personal because no matter how mistaken, I think judges are basically just trying to do their jobs,” he said, predicting the order would be upheld by a higher court.