Moderate Republicans in Congress prepare for the revenge of ‘orange Jesus’ if Trump gets reelected as support grows for Nikki Haley

Moderate Republicans on Capitol Hill are prepared for former President Donald Trump to wreak havoc on their lives again if he is re-elected in November.

Some anti-Trump Republicans in the Senate are also paying close attention to the recent rise of the former U.N. ambassador. Nikki Haley, against De Heuvel in interviews that she may be the best hope to stop him.

During Trump's four years in power, Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate were forced to respond almost daily to the then-president's shocking policy announcements and bizarre tweets.

“S*** yeah,” Rep. David Joyce, a Republican from Ohio, told Politico when asked if his colleagues are concerned about the clash with Trump. 'The Orange Jesus?' he said laughing.

That nickname came to prominence after former anti-Trump Rep. Liz Cheney told a lawmaker named Trump that as he signed on to the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Moderate Republicans in Congress are preparing for former President Donald Trump (left) to wreak havoc on their lives again if he is re-elected in 2024, while some Senate Republicans believe Nikki Haley (right) may be the best candidate to offer an alternative.

“S*** yes,” Rep. David Joyce, a Republican from Ohio, told Politico when asked if his colleagues are concerned about the clash with Trump. 'The Orange Jesus?' he said laughing

“The things we do for the Orange Jesus,” Republican Rep. Mark Green muttered, Cheney wrote in her memoir, as he signed on to challenge the Key Swing State's Electoral College vote count.

Green denies saying anything like that.

Trump has stronger positions in the House of Representatives than in the US Senate, where a handful of Republicans had sided with their colleague, Senator Tim Scott, who dropped out of the 2024 race last month.

In total, Trump has received 80 endorsements from House GOP members, although he only has the support of 13 of 49 Republican senators.

Among U.S. senators who want the party to distance itself from Trump, they are showing interest in Haley while suggesting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' campaign is losing steam.

“She has better prospects than him because her numbers are going up and his are going down,” Senator Mitt Romney told The Hill. “Usually you want to bet on someone who will do better.”

Romney announced in September that he would not seek another term.

Sen. Mitt Romney, a Trump critic who declined to run for re-election, told The Hill he believed the former U.N. official. Nikki Haley had 'better prospects' of becoming the party's Trump alternative than Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, long considered Trump's biggest enemy

He is the only US senator to vote to convict Trump in both of the ex-president's impeachments and would have faced a tough re-election battle in a red state.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune told The Hill that Haley “seems” to be emerging as the best Trump alternative.

Thune was among the Senate Republicans who had supported Scott's bid.

He hasn't approved another choice yet.

“She acquitted herself very well in the debates, and I think she did a good job,” he said. “Part of running for national office — especially in those early states — is relatability, and I think she has a good political style. It seems like it's winning some people over.”

Thune noted that Trump is “starting with a very commanding lead,” but told The Hill he believes the Republican Party's primaries are still fluid.

“I think the question is how much can she change that narrative,” Thune said of Haley.

Sen. Mike Rounds, who had also endorsed Scott, also told The Hill that Haley was well positioned to become Trump's main rival.

That said, he told her she had a steep hill to climb.

“Republicans are not yet ready to make changes in their decision-making; they're getting closer. So I think her timing is probably quite important,” Rounds said. “It will now depend on what the other candidates say and whether the other candidates decide they want to continue competing.”

“After the Iowa caucuses, after New Hampshire, I think this will be narrowed down to a two-way race,” the South Dakota Republican said. “I think she has the momentum,” he said of the former South Carolina governor.