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Tom MacArthur. Photo: Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images

House Republicans are scared. Last week, Arizona congresswoman Martha McSally warned donors that her political prospects were falling with President Trumps approval numbers. I have an R next to my name and right now, this environment would have me not prevail, McSally said in a leaked recording. After winning her district by 14 points last year, a recent poll found McSally trailing a generic Democrat.

And shes far from the only Republican who sees a big blue wave cresting.

Republicans are growing increasingly worried that they will lose the House of Representatives, Politico wrote in its Playbook Monday morning. The pervasive pessimism comes as there continues to be a dearth of legislative victories, and a toxic political environment that appears to be worsening.

For Politico, the upshot of this pessimism is clear: Republicans will be less willing to take risks as they shift into political survival mode.

But that begs the question: For House Republicans, what constitutes a political risk?

After all, the House GOP was already navigating a toxic political environment in early May. And yet, when the time came to vote on a health-care bill that less than 20 percent of the public supported, self-styled moderate Republicans from competitive districts toed the party line.

At the end of the day, all those town-hall protests and calls to congressional offices did put the fear of 2018 into their hearts. But that fear pushed them further to the right. As the Washington Post reported:

Moderates considered the risk of voting for a bill that condemned thousands of poor people to preventable deaths for the sake of increasing income inequality. Then, they contemplated the risk of bucking their partys leadership, donors, and base for the sake of protecting nonaffluent cancer patients.

And most decided they were much more afraid of doing the latter.

This is important context for Tom MacArthurs weekend visit to Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster. MacArthur represents a New Jersey district whose registered voters are only 2 percent more Republican than Democratic. He was co-chairman of the House GOPs Tuesday Group, a caucus of self-identified moderate Republicans. And yet, when his partys widely despised health-care bill died an untimely death, he decided to spearhead the effort to bring it back to life.

Now, hes counting on the widely despised president and GOP donor class to get him reelected. As Politico reports:

The event was closed to press, but MacArthur campaign strategist Chris Russell said Trumps remarks focused on MacArthurs role in revamping the House GOPs Obamacare replacement bill.[Trump] talked about the health care fight, Russell said. [He was] very complimentary of Tom and his efforts on health care and, moving forward, sees him as a leader in Washington.

MacArthur will be a test case for whether the high turnout rate of elderly white people combined with the deep pockets of right-wing billionaires can insulate House Republicans from public opinion (and/or democratic accountability).

Only 8 percent of Americans want the health-care bill that MacArthur revamped to pass the Senate. Only 38 percent like having Donald Trump as their president.

MacArthur thinks his survival depends on preaching to that small, well-funded choir. Judging by developments in the Senate, many of his fellow GOP moderates think the same.

Rightwing media is encouraging Trump to pull the trigger. And the only people that could punish him for doing so are congressional Republicans.

Keep an eye on what African-American voters and D.C. suburbanites do.

Body-slamming a journalist has worked out pretty well for Greg Gianforte.

But there was some good news for the White House in the decision.

Almost 10,000 commuters will be affected and have been instructed to warn their employers in advance.

Reince Priebus called his job a blessing, while Pence with greatest privilege of my life.

Republican aide, when asked if the public can see the bill, replies, We arent stupid.

The public can tune in at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

His one-year-old centrist party is poised to win an unlikely majority in Frances parliament, bolstering his presidential mandate.

It was technically true we did not have a counter-intelligence file case open on then President-elect Trump. Vindication?

Tom MacArthur represents a swing district in a blue state. But hes still more afraid of losing the conservative base than the center.

A group of enterprising lawyers thinks it might be, whether all roads lead to Russia or not.

They were photographed trudging toward their new home on Sunday evening.

Their attorneys general will argue that the president has violated the Constitutions emoluments clause.

Trump may have helped provoke a dangerous escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf.

Watching a risky career move unfold in real time.

The president is reportedly worried about large-scale protests against him.

James Comey wasnt the only one receiving unwanted phone calls from the president.

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Vulnerable House Republican Ties Himself to Trump - New York Magazine

We got something in common, Dale Ross told Al Gore last summer. You invented the internet. And I invented green energy.

Ross, the mayor of Georgetown, Texas pop. 65,000 was having a bit of fun with the former vice president and longtime environmental activist. But, in the coming months, his rapid ascendancy in the renewable-energy cosmos might make the boast seem less of a joke.

The mayor has recently been interviewed by a Dutch film crew and appeared on both NPR and MSNBC. He spoke last month at the Earth Optimism Summit in Washington, sponsored by the Smithsonian Conversation Commons. And in the coming months, he will take on the role of unlikely hero in three high-profile documentary films, including the sequel to Gores 2006 hit, "An Inconvenient Truth."

A volunteer politician from a little-known town in central Texas, Ross might otherwise be laboring at his more workaday tasks: issuing proclamations to residents who turn 100 and promoting the beauty of Georgetowns central square. But he is becoming a national media darling because, in an era of hardened political boundaries, he has unapologetically colored outside ideological lines. He is a Republican, a conservative and a Donald Trump voter (with an asterisk on the last point) who is so committed to green energy he has pushed his city to become one of the first in the country to get all of its electricity from the wind and the sun.

A hip video blogger from Los Angeles showed up not long ago to hear Rosss rap on renewable energy.

Weve got an endless supply of wind and sun, the mayor said on the blog. Ill take that bet over fossil fuels, any day of the week. The bearded, denim-clad blogger from the West Coast, who goes by his first name, Hyla, quickly embraced the the mayor, wearing white shirt and bow-tie, as my honorable Republican homie.

Ross, 58, makes time for all curious outsiders even when one-hour interviews stretch to four. My Tea Party friends accuse me of being a Democrat, Ross chuckled. But we need to put national politics aside and make decisions that are best for the people we serve.

Though he clearly doesnt shrink from the attention, Ross says its really all about the city he loves. A conversation with him will not end without at least one boast about the town square (acclaimed for its beauty and preservation of 19th-century architecture), a beloved swimming hole (though the map appears to put that an hour south of town) and the relentless hospitality offered by what he calls the greatest city on earth!

Ross, an accountant by day, said the citys moves toward alternative energy had nothing to do with politics and everything to do with common sense.

Despite its rich history in the petroleum industry, Texas has become a national leader in renewable electric power because of its ample supplies of both sun and wind. We started in 2008 with the goal of getting 30 percent of our power from renewables by 2030, Ross said. But improved technology in solar panels and more accessible transmission lines allowed the city to become much more ambitious.

With favorable weather, Georgetown already could claim last year that it got all its power from renewable sources. It will slide just under that mark in 2017. But it has a contract with a new solar farm coming online in West Texas next year.

From then on, we will be 100 percent renewable, said Ross. I think we will run out of fossil fuels before we ever run out of sunshine and wind.

The electricity will come from the solar installation in the west part of the state and from a giant wind farm 40 miles west of Amarillo in the Texas panhandle. That energy feeds into the state's general electrical grid. But Georgetown has contracts directly with the solar and wind providers, paying their rates to pull as much power off the grid as it needs.

I think we will run out of fossil fuels before we ever run out of sunshine and wind. Dale Ross, Republican mayor of Georgetown, Texas.

The mayor said that long-term contracts will shield the city from price fluctuations, and the volatile politics of the energy sector, for 25 or 30 years to come.

Ross said he voted for Trump, though he did not like either of the nominees in the 2016 election. He believes that Trump backed himself into a corner by pledging during the campaign to abandon the Paris climate agreement. When you put politics in the decision-making process, its not going to be an optimal decision, he said.

He deemed himself disappointed on a personal level that Trump reversed Americas commitment to meet carbon-reduction goals. But that does nothing to us here, because we have 20- to 25-year wind and solar contracts. We have stability, Ross said. There is nothing the federal government can do about that.

The makers of An Inconvenient Sequel, which debuts in New York and Los Angeles July 28 before opening in theaters nationwide, said Gore was intent on spending time with the Texas mayor.

Al feels this issue has really grown beyond politics and parties and he felt it was important to reach out and spend some time with a leader in a deeply red state, in a red city, who was so intent on going to solar and going to wind, said Jon Shenk, who directed the film with his wife, Bonni Cohen.

The mayor, in turn, became smitten with Gore, the politician he voted against multiple times. He said the former vice president had a wicked sense of humor and was loose enough to pose for pictures beneath the Williamson County Republican Party banner. Gore also took time to speak to Rosss wife, who runs the local history museum. And when Gore discussed the economics of energy, Ross was impressed.

He really knows his stuff, Ross said. He is incredibly smart. He is just the real deal.

Former US Vice President Al Gore leaves after meetings at Trump Tower in New York City on December 5, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / DOMINICK REUTERDOMINICK REUTER/AFP/Getty Images DOMINICK REUTER / AFP - Getty Images

Michael Bonfiglio, who filmed the mayor for

The sentiment apparently won over at least one other filmmaker, Jamie Redford (son of Robert Redford), whose HBO

Is the little-known pol from a red state suddenly in danger of over-exposure? Bonfiglio concedes he felt a slight twinge when he learned Ross would appear in so many other forums. But he is such a compelling figure, and so is the town, that we had to keep them in, the director said.

Mayor Ross got another affirmation in early May when voters returned him to office for a second three-year term. He won 72 percent of the vote. Last Thursday, he and his wife traveled to Washington to attend a screening of From the Ashes at National Geographics headquarters and museum. Mickie Ross says she and her husband remain awed and impressed every time they get to return to the capital.

Her husband gives an "aw shucks" to the suggestion he has done anything that special, saying Georgetown's energy initiative amounts to a no-brainer.

We are going to provide cost certainty on our electricity for 25 or 30 years. And there are no pollutants going back in the atmosphere," he said. "Everybody wins on this deal.

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For a Republican Mayor in Texas, Clean Energy Is a 'No Brainer' - NBCNews.com

The Trump effect: Mnuchin, like President Trump, puts a high premium on loyalty when it comes to appointing senior aides. Mnuchin's closest confidants, Eli Miller and Justin Muzinich, are folks whom Mnuchin trusts as virtually leak-proof. The original selection for this position was Goldman Sachs executive Jim Donovan, but he later withdrew his name from consideration because of family issues.

Behind the scenes: When Donovan dropped out, an intriguing name on the early consideration list was Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH), according to a source with direct knowledge. Treasury officials liked the idea of someone with Capitol Hill relationships going into tax reform. It's unclear whether Tiberi, an influential member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, even knew he was under consideration.

What's next: The OneWest foreclosure controversy will almost certainly be brought up at Brooks' confirmation hearing. Leaked documents from the California AG's office alleged that OneWest was responsible for "using potentially illegal tactics to foreclose on as many as 80,000 California homes." Mnuchin denied the allegations during his confirmation haring, saying he was "committed to loan modifications intended to stop foreclosures. I ran a 'loan modification machine.'"

Brooks joined OneWest in May 2011 where he served as the bank's vice chairman. He joined Fannie Mae in November 2014, serving as EVP, general counsel, and corporate secretary. From 1994 to 2011, Brooks was a managing partner at law firm O'Melveny & Myers, where he helped financial services companies with litigation cases. He received his J.D. from the University of Chicago in 1994. There also were earlier reports that he was being considered to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

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Republican lawmakers are blocking constituents on social media - Axios

The Monroe Republican Town Committee will be honoring Debra Dutches as the Republican of the Year.

Dutches has served on the Board of Education, Town Council, Board of Finance and is currently the Republican Deputy registrar of voters.

The committee will also honor Manny Cambra as the Monroe Republicans Lifetime Achievement award recipient. Cambra has been an active member of our community and over the last 3 decades served on the Zoning Board of Appeals, Board of Finance, Town Treasurer and currently as Tax Collector.

The Republicans also will be honoring Jonathan Formichella as the Monroe Rising Republican Star. Formichella is serving as Planning and Zoning alternate.

These individuals will be honored on Friday June 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the Stone Barn, 175 Shelton Road in Monroe. The cost is $60 per person. The keynote speaker will be Themis Klarides State Representative and Minority Leader of the House Republicans.

For additional information please contact Deborah Heim at 203-268-1072 or email at [emailprotected].

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Dutches named Republican of the Year - Monroe Courier

"All right, guys, the old man is here," he whooped to Ron Kaufman, one of his close advisers, as Kaufman faked a limp ahead of a four-mile hike at dawn Friday.

"It's just walking. Just walking," said Romney, flashing the same mischievous half-smile that he would don 30 yards later, when the 70-year-old began to jog the Wasatch Mountains switchbacks -- uphill. "We can handle that."

If the former private equity executive is at home anywhere, it is here -- among more than 200 of his donors and high-wattage friends.

The same can't be said of President Donald Trump.

None of those hikers came from the Trump administration -- and few, for that matter, even hear from them these days. The White House sent no official emissaries to one of the GOP's A-list donor summits. And so the annual gathering of Romneyworld here at a ski lodge resort served as a vivid reminder of the chasm that persists between the Republican Party's -- and Romney's -- donor base and the leader of the GOP.

Where Romney revels in the admiration of his fundraisers, Trump appears to shirk it.

"I don't think he spends his time reaching out to donors," Spencer Zwick, a much-heralded fundraiser for Romney and House Speaker Paul Ryan, said in an interview. "The way they got elected was not the way Romney built his campaign."

Trump has earned plaudits from Republican lawmakers for his heavy touch and willingness to call at all hours of the day to hear their thoughts. But that gameness does not extend the party's well-heeled class of givers, whom Trump scorned during much of the campaign and still to this day see Trump as an imperfect vehicle for a number of policy wins that appear increasingly out of reach.

One person filling some of the fundraising leadership void left by Trump: Sheldon Adelson, the party's largest contributor, who is preparing for possible headwinds ahead of 2018, according to a person with knowledge of his plans.

Adelson has begun sounding out other contributors, such as the Ricketts family, on forming a new super PAC that would focus on governors' races and state legislative races ahead of the next redistricting cycle in 2020. Adelson would be willing to commit substantial resources to the group, which is still in early talks but is envisioned as a heavyweight GOP group similar to the Senate Leadership Fund or Congressional Leadership Fund.

Adelson has also been staying in close touch with Trump administration hands in Washington -- last week, Adelson visited Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, one of the architects behind the White House's plan to replace Obamacare.

Few other donors -- except for the big whales like Adelson -- have had as much contact from the White House. The donor-tending that Romney zealously embraced is missing.

But major GOP givers and their aides on the grounds of Romney's annual ideas summit continue to insist that for all the chaos of Trump's Washington -- thrown into stark spotlight just this week -- Trump is remaining palatable, even if, in the words one attendee, "the amount of chaos is pretty overwhelming."

Top Republicans have abandoned hope that Trump would govern as a steadier leader, and have begun to succumb to the chaos that has defined Trump's first five months. A recognition has taken hold, Republicans here said, that the drama is here to stay.

"His problem is not issues," said Kaufman as he trekked through mountain shrubbery, at least 15 minutes behind Romney. "His problem is style."

Some top givers maintain an "I told you so" air heading into 2018, observing that Trump had wrought the spectacle that discouraged them from supporting him in the first place. Yet a larger group eyes the midterms more humbly, recognizing Trump's poor popularity endangers the GOP's effort to retain the House.

"It's going to be a herculean effort on fundraising for the House," said one Republican involved, predicting a massive focus on outside money routed through groups like the Congressional Leadership Fund, whose president roamed the Stein Eriksen Lodge this weekend.

CLF, the main super PAC affiliated with Paul Ryan, is expected to consume much of the fundraising oxygen this cycle, no longer forced to compete with presidential super PACs in a midterm and with Republican donors seeing House races as higher fundraising priorities than Senate ones in 2018.

Ryan himself acknowledged the task before them, reminding some of the GOP's most loyal supporters in a private session here about the statistical history of midterm losses for the party in power, according to two people in the room.

Other Republican fundraisers similarly worry about a cockiness taking hold now that they have unified control of Washington.

"We're going to think: "Oh wow, look what we did. We won with Trump and we're just going to sweep '18'," said one GOP donor. "I think we have to be very careful thinking that what Trump was able to pull off, Republicans can pull off."

And Zwick, Ryan's chief fundraiser, warned of trouble "if the end of 2017 happens and there aren't some wins on the board."

The turbocharged Democratic fundraising base, meanwhile, has even "overwhelmed" institutions like the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, one top Democratic fundraiser said in the last week.

Romney is described as eager to campaign in the midterms as well. But how much Trump would welcome someone like him in the 2018 campaign is one of the bigger questions hovering over their relationship.

Despite his fervent, personal criticism of Trump, Romney allies feel they have avoided any blackballing -- successfully using chief of staff Reince Priebus and Ryan to get names in front of the president for administration posts, such as Andy Puzder for Labor Secretary and Jim Donovan for Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Both of those Romney friends later withdrew from their confirmation processes.

But alas, Trump's footprint at Romney's star event remained meager.

Ronna Romney McDaniel, the new chair of the Republican National Committee and Mitt Romney's niece, has earned early plaudits from GOP givers. But she was a late scratch here at her uncle's retreat -- she went to Georgia to campaign in that state's special election -- leaving Trump forces without a strong surrogate, never mind an official White House presence, on the premises.

Last year, then-RNC Chair Priebus strongly urged anti-Trump holdouts to jump on board, telling them that Trump would win in November with them or without them. The sole Trump hand on the scene this year was Trump fundraiser Anthony Scaramucci, who does not yet even technically work for the administration.

But for now, Romney appears willing to revel solely in the veneration from his network, even if not from Trump's.

"This guy here -- if you don't know him -- he's done seven of the seven peaks on seven continents," Romney regaled to the queue Friday morning, as the former governor awaited the turning chairlift. He pointed to his friend. "And he's sailed the seven seas."

"This guy here," shot back the associate. "He ran for president!"

"And I lost," Romney said, before his four-seater began to descend.

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Republican fundraisers can stomach Trump -- if only he'd call - CNN