In early December, Rep. Bill Flores made what seemed like an obvious observation to a roomful of conservatives at a conference in Washington. Some of Donald Trump’s proposals, the Texas Republican cautioned, “are not going to line up very well with our conservative policies," though he quickly added that there was plenty the incoming president and GOP Congress could accomplish together.

Little did Flores realize the hell that would soon rain down from Trump's throng of enforcers.


Breitbart seized on Flores' remarks a few days later, calling them proof that House Republicans planned to “isolate and block President Donald Trump’s populist campaign promises.” A conservative populist blogger for the site TruthFeed then warned Flores on Twitter to "get ready for a shit storm," and posted a headline that read: “BREAKING: Rep. Bill Flores Has CRAFTED a PLAN to BLOCK Trump’s Immigration Reform.”

Sean Hannity jumped in, too, featuring the Breitbart post on his syndicated radio show. That only further riled the impromptu anti-Flores mob.

"@RepBillFlores get in @realDonaldTrump way & we will burn your career down until you are reduced to selling life insurance,” tweeted one person. "@RepBillFlores you can go hang yourself!!" another wrote.

It’s little wonder that Capitol Hill Republicans have papered over their not-insignificant policy differences with Trump, shying away from any statement about the president-elect that might possibly be construed as critical. They’re terrified of arousing the ire of their tempestuous new leader — or being labeled a turncoat by his army of followers.

It's a novel form of party message discipline that stems from Trump but doesn't necessarily require the president-elect to speak or tweet himself. Plenty of others are willing to do it for him.

Since the election, numerous congressional Republicans have refused to publicly weigh in on any Trump proposal at odds with Republican orthodoxy, from his border wall to his massive infrastructure package. The most common reason, stated repeatedly but always privately: They're afraid of being attacked by Breitbart or other big-name Trump supporters.

"Nobody wants to go first," said Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), who received nasty phone calls, letters and tweets after he penned an August op-ed in The New York Times, calling on Trump to release his tax returns. "People are naturally reticent to be the first out of the block for fear of Sean Hannity, for fear of Breitbart, for fear of local folks."

An editor at Breitbart, formerly run by senior Trump adviser Steve Bannon, said that fear is well-founded.

“If any politician in either party veers from what the voters clearly voted for in a landslide election … we stand at the ready to call them out on it and hold them accountable,” the person said. (Trump won the Electoral College handily but lost the popular vote by 2 percentage points.)

“Let's work on the things we know where we’re together," Rep. Bill Flores said, "and then we’ll figure out the rest in the next six months.” | Getty

Republican Hill staffers have wrestled in recent months with how to respond to inquiries from Breitbart or other pro-Trump bloggers. Engage them or ignore them? One GOP aide told POLITICO members are “damned if you do, damned if you don't." Another said it's having a "chilling effect" on GOP lawmakers.

The Republican officeholders see Trump’s unabashed use of his Twitter account to shame critics as the most foreboding threat. During campaign season, he regularly took shots at adversaries, including Marco Rubio (“Little Marco”), Ted Cruz (“Lyin’ Ted,”) and Speaker Paul Ryan (a “very weak and ineffective leader”).

Trump hasn't gone after any lawmakers on Twitter since the election, but some worry it's just a matter of time. Eventually, some Republican will feel compelled to challenge his trillion-dollar infrastructure plan, or slap companies that move jobs overseas with massive tariffs. And that’s when things will get ugly, insiders predict.

Flores did not respond to a request for comment for this story. But his remarks to a conference at the American Enterprise Institute on Dec. 1 seemed relatively tame and didn't make headlines at first.

Flores admitted that Trump’s new brand of populist conservatism wouldn't always mesh with the priorities of Capitol Hill Republicans. But he went on to suggest it wouldn’t be a big problem, emphasizing that Republicans had plenty to collaborate on, such as tax reform, repealing Obamacare and passing a border security plan.

“Let's work on the things we know where we’re together," Flores said, "and then we’ll figure out the rest in the next six months.”

Breitbart picked up the remarks several days later. Its post linked Flores to Ryan and argued that the Texan's comments hinted at a GOP leadership ploy to quietly stifle Trump’s campaign promises.

Hannity highlighted the Breitbart story on his talk show the next day. The Fox News host told his radio listeners that talk of pursuing areas of agreement was Beltway-speak for telling Trump to "go to hell."

“All they want to do, even the Republicans, is do the things that they want, not the things that Trump ran on," Hannity said. "If I’m Trump, I’d read this very closely."

The TruthFeed post linked to Flores' Twitter handle and Facebook page and listed his office phone number. Soon people were threatening his physical safety and warning that his political career was on the line. The outgoing leader of the conservative Republican Study Committee ranks as the 47th most right-leaning member of the House, according to the Club for Growth's 2015 scorecard.

Sanford said he’s not afraid to speak his mind about Trump. But the former South Carolina governor and Freedom Caucus member said he knows others are. He worries that the hair-trigger backlash against perceived dissenters, like what Flores encountered, will stifle debate and hinder policymaking over the long haul.

"Free speech is one of the hallmarks of our republic," Sanford said. "If people are afraid to say what they think based on fear of reprisal … that’s not free speech.”