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Sen. John McCain has emerged as President Donald Trump's top Republican nemesis on Capitol Hill.

Since Trump's inauguration, McCain has broken with the president on his immigration order, warned him against any rapprochement with Moscow, lectured him on the illegality of torture, and supplied only a tepid endorsement of Rex Tillerson, Trump's secretary of state nominee.

Oh, and McCain also hammered Trump for backing away from instead of embracing international free trade agreements.

As Trump presses ahead with an ambitious and contentious agenda at home and abroad, McCain is pushing back, using his seniority in Congress and his characteristic bluntness. McCain, 80, cruised to a sixth Senate term in November, defeating a Democratic challenger who hounded the senator for standing by Trump even after the billionaire businessman insulted him as a "loser."

Trump, who received several draft deferments during the Vietnam era, also said there was nothing heroic about McCain's military record after he was shot down during the Vietnam War and spent 5 ? years as a prisoner of war.

McCain dropped his support for Trump in early October after a 2005 recording surfaced in which Trump boasted about groping women. The move led to an outcry from conservative voters firmly behind Trump. But McCain overcame the backlash in what may have been his final election.

He hasn't looked back.

Trump's immigration order, signed by the president Friday, temporarily suspends all immigration for citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries for 90 days. McCain, along with his close friend and Senate colleague Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said they feared Trump's immigration order could "become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism."

"This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security," McCain and Graham wrote.

That elicited an angry tweet from Trump, who accused the two of "looking to start World War III."

McCain and other senators said that Trump's order, unless amended, would ban Iraqi pilots from coming to the United States for training so they can join the fight against the Islamic State. The travel ban could also affect Iraqis who worked with the U.S.-led coalition and, after lengthy reviews, received special immigrant visas to enter the U.S., according to the lawmakers.

"I hope that they are working to walk what they did back and learn that you better really vet these decisions before you make them," McCain told reporters Tuesday.

As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, McCain is one of the leading Republican voices in Congress on national security matters. Re-elected last year to another six years in office, he is free to challenge the president without fear of retribution from voters.

And perhaps on no issue has McCain been more unequivocal than of Trump's desire for a better relationship with Moscow.

Trump's praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin before and after the election signaled that U.S.-Russia relations could be getting a makeover even after U.S. intelligence agencies determined Moscow meddled in the campaign to help Trump win.

But McCain has little interest in detente with a country that has invaded Ukraine, annexed Crimea, threatened America's NATO allies, and backed Syrian President Bashar Assad's "murderous" regime.

Ahead of a telephone call on Saturday between the two leaders, McCain issued a blistering statement in which he called Putin a "murderer and a thug" who will never be an ally of the United States. He cautioned Trump against lifting U.S. sanctions against Russia and voiced his support for legislation that would broaden the punishments and even codify them in law.

"Each of our last three presidents had high hopes for building a partnership with the Russian government," McCain said. "Each attempt failed, not for lack of good faith and effort on the U.S. side, but because Putin wants to be our enemy. He needs us as his enemy."

McCain has been bucking his own party for years. In the mid-1990s, he worked with then-Sen. John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, to help President Bill Clinton restore full diplomatic relations with Vietnam. McCain also teamed up with Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and, more recently, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to craft bipartisan legislation aimed at repairing the nation's flawed immigration system.

McCain served in the U.S. House and then was elected to the Senate in 1986, succeeding conservative Barry Goldwater. He will be 86 when his new term ends, making him one of the oldest- and longest-serving members of the Senate.

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McCain Emerges as Trump's Top Republican Nemesis in Congress - ABC News

Chris Day announces he is running for Orangetown Supervisor at Braunsdorf Park in Pearl River Jan. 30, 2017. Peter Carr/lohud

Chris Day announces he is running for Orangetown Supervisor at Braunsdorf Park in Pearl River Jan. 30, 2017.(Photo: Peter Carr/The Journal News)Buy Photo

PEARL RIVER - A Republican candidatehas become the first to enter the November racefor Orangetown supervisor.

Chris Day, son of County Executive Ed Day, announced his candidacy for supervisor Monday. Flanked by Republican politicians andsupporters holding campaign signs bearing his name,Chris Day said the town's economic challenges pushed him to enter the race.

"We have so many challenges we are facing, I'm not going to sit back and wait for someone else to lead usthrough those challenges," Day said. "I'm going to step up to the plate and get things done."

Day becomes the first candidate of either party to enter the supervisor's race. Orangetown Supervisor Andy Stewarthas already announcedhe will not seek a fourth term.

ORANGETOWN: Supervisor won't seek re-election in 2017

Chris Day announces he is running for Orangetown Supervisor at Braunsdorf Park in Pearl River Jan. 30, 2017.(Photo: Peter Carr/The Journal News)

The Democratic supervisor currently leads aboard with a majority ofRepublicans: Paul Valentine, Thomas Diviny and Denis Troy.Gerald "Gerry" Bottari is the only other Democrat on the board.

Chris Day is aformer Army Ranger captain who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Helives in Palisades with his wife, Jennifer, and two young children with another on the way.Hepreviouslyran an unsuccessful Congressional campaign in 2014 to unseat Nita Lowey, D-Harrison.

While standing below the flagpole near the Pearl River train station, Day said the issues driving his campaign willbe preserving the quality of life in Orangetown, which includesfighting against overdevelopment and securing the school system; supporting law enforcement and protecting the town's youth against theongoing opioid epidemic; cuttingtaxes; and improving town services and infrastructure.

"I want to make sure our community is vibrant. ... We've got to try to bring in young families who want to be a part of this community so our seniorshave that equity in their homes preserved," said Day, 32. "And we've got to preserve the character of our community: Make sure it's safe, make sure the people who are moving here want to be a part of our community and not push everyone out, and we've got to really focus on keeping those taxes down."

Lawrence Garvey, chairman of the Rockland Republican Committee, said it was time for a younger generation to take over.

Although Orangetown is home to Democratic bastions in the Nyacks, Garvey said thereis also astrong Republican contingent in the town that couldcarry Day to victory.

"We need a new direction in Orangetown," Garvey said.

Among the other politicians at the announcementwereValentine,Diviny and Troy; and Rockland Republican Legislators Vincent Tyer andPatrick Moroney, both of Pearl River.

Diviny's and Troy's terms are up this year, and both men said they plan on seeking re-election.

Troy said it was time for a new supervisor inOrangetown.

"From my parochial perspective, anybody but Andy Stewart is a welcomed addition," Troy said.

Calls to the Rockland Democratic Committee seeking comment about the supervisor race were not returned.

Chris Day currently owns theWest Nyack car wash with ex-Clarkstown police Sgt. Michael Garvey, who is not related to Lawrence Garvey. Michael Garveywas found to be the source of the nearly $100,000 contributionthe state Reform Party spent getting Republican George Hoehmann elected Clarkstown supervisor.

Chris Day said his business partnership with Michael Garvey wouldnot affect the race, and he will not have any formal position in his campaign.

"Mike Garvey is a friend of mine," Chris Day said. "I've known him from church. I asked him to invest in a business. He did, and we're business partners. I'm the one that announced it. It's never been hidden."

(Photo: 2003 submitted photo)

Ed Day is entering the final year of his term.The Republican county executive was elected in 2013, and has yet to announce whether he will seekre-election.

Chris Day said he managed his father's campaign in 2013, andsupported his fiscal approach to governing. But Chris Dayadded he disagrees with his father on other points and the two would berunning "completely separate operations."

"I'm also going to bring my own independentview to things. ... Where we disagree, we'll disagree," Chris Day said referring to his father. "Obviously wecan't change our names, but we are both individual people running for individual offices."

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Republican Chris Day enters Orangetown supervisor race - The Journal News | LoHud.com

There was mostly silence from top Georgia Republican elected officials on President Donald Trumps executive order to keep millions of foreigners out of the country. But there was a surge of support for the controversial policy from Trumps self-styled outsider allies in Georgia.

This is looking forward. This is inheriting a mess and trying to determine: Is there a problem here, or is there not? said former Rep. Jack Kingston, a Savannah Republican and one of Trumps go-to surrogates on cable news.

The order blocked all refugees from entering the United States for 120 days, indefinitely barred Syrian refugees from coming into the country and suspended citizens of seven countries from traveling here: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The order, which took effect Friday afternoon, created chaos across the globe as scores of refugees were detained at airports in Atlanta and around the nation. A federal judges order temporarily prevented the government from deporting some arrivals.

Bruce Levell, the head of Trumps diversity coalition and a likely candidate for Congress in suburban Atlanta, echoed the presidents argument that the measures would help prevent terrorism.

For the last 8 years, radical liberals have weakened our borders, made deals with terrorist countries and jeopardized American security interests, he said. President Trumps executive order is exactly what our nation needs to ensure that radical islamic terrorism finds no safe harbor on American soil.

Meanwhile, most members of the states congressional delegation were mum on the refugee policy over the weekend, and requests for comment from mostof them went unanswered.

Republicans Rick Allen ofEvans and Buddy Carter of Pooler voiced support for the order.

In the world we currently live in, it is smart and necessary to put in place the most robust national security vetting process ever to know exactly who is entering our country so we can continue to welcome those who believe in Americas freedom and share our values, Carter said.

Allen said the move keeps Americans safe until we can reform our visa process and the vetting of refugees.

Some local activists quickly embraced the move.

Harry Abrams, a Cherokee County Republican, called Trumps order an attempt to restore sanity to the nations immigration policy and a first step toward curbing illegal immigration.

Our country has legally defined borders and the lawful right to protect those borders, said Abrams. The utter failure to respect the laws on the books and circumvent those laws by the past Administration has made a mockery of what we stand for.

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Billionaire industrialist Charles Koch is launching a campaign to sink a border tax under consideration by Republican leaders in Congress, a move that could complicate the lawmakers' efforts to find a way to pay for President Donald Trump's proposed wall on the U.S. border with Mexico.

Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political advocacy group founded by Charles Koch and his brother David, plans to use its network of wealthy political donors and activists to kill the proposal, which aims to raise $1.2 trillion over 10 years on goods coming into the United States, according to officials from the group, which gathered this weekend for a conference.

Republican House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan is pushing the tax as part of a broader overhaul of the U.S. tax code.

The White House has given mixed signals on whether Trump supports the approach, but proponents say revenue collected from the border tax could finance Trump's drive to build a wall along the southwestern U.S. border. Proponents also say it would discourage U.S. manufacturers from moving abroad.

On Thursday, AFP sent a letter expressing its opposition to the border tax to a House panel in charge of writing tax legislation.

AFP Chief Executive Officer Luke Hilgemann, in an interview, called the measure "a massive tax increase" on U.S. consumers, who would pay more for foreign goods. He urged Ryan to "go back to the drawing board."

AFP and its offshoot organizations have become a powerful force in U.S. politics, bolstering candidates and issues on federal and state levels.

Besides defying Republican leaders on the border tax, the Koch-led organization on Sunday challenged Trump on a policy he implemented on Friday to stop the movement of people from countries with large Muslim populations from traveling to the United States.

"The travel ban is the wrong approach and will likely be counterproductive," said an official of the Koch network.

Koch refused to endorse Trump during his presidential campaign, differing with the candidate over his positions on immigration and trade policy, and his practice of singling out companies for possible retribution if they move jobs abroad.

Nevertheless, Hilgemann said AFP had a "developing relationship" with the Trump White House, which he said had reached out to his organization to discuss some policy matters.

At the same time, former AFP officials have landed high-level jobs in the Trump administration, giving the group a conduit for airing its policy wishes.

Looking toward the 2018 congressional and gubernatorial elections, AFP officials said they planned to boost the network's spending on policy and political activities to between $300 million and $400 million, up from an estimated $250 million for the 2016 campaigns.

Hilgemann also said AFP was laying plans to mobilize activists to help win Senate confirmation of Trump's pick for the Supreme Court nominee. The White House said Trump was planning this week to announce his pick to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

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Billionaire Koch Brothers Launch Effort to Kill Republican Border Tax Plan - Fortune

Republican Senators Question Trump on Executive Order Wall Street Journal WASHINGTONA growing number of Republican senators on Sunday said they were uneasy with aspects of President Donald Trump's decision to suspend entries to the U.S. from seven majority-Muslim countries, with centrists, military hawks and Mormon ...

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Republican Senators Question Trump on Executive Order - Wall Street Journal