Washington (CNN) Over the past 48 hours, a who's who of Republican congressional leaders -- and governors -- have come forward to protest the Trump administration's policy of family separation at the border.

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch called the policy decision "wrong." Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said that "Americans do not take children hostage."

The question before congressional Republicans -- even as they huddled Tuesday night with President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill -- was whether they will do more than oppose him rhetorically, and whether that opposition will, as it has before, crumble in the face of an activated Trump base.

A brief stroll through the history of Trump and the GOP establishment suggests that caution is warranted when declaring that the Republican leaders in Congress have finally had enough of some of the President's more radical actions.

Remember that the likes of Speaker Paul Ryan repeatedly distanced themselves from Trump during the campaign, going so far as to effectively disavow the nominee in the wake of the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape in October 2016.

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