President Trump trained elected Republicans to obey him, even when they disagreed. Elected Republicans trained Trump to expect obedience, even as his demands grew impossible to satisfy. Why it matters: Years of Republicans submitting to Trump, often against their own judgment, have curdled into a rolling crisis as Washington nears the likely end of the GOP's two-year monopoly. The big picture: Trump has spent his second term steamrolling his own party, confident the lawmakers he humiliates will keep voting his way. Between the lines: Trump is governing like a term-limited president with little patience for Congress, few concerns about the midterms, and an insatiable appetite for executive power. "I don't think about Americans' financial situation," Trump told reporters in May when asked whether domestic economic pressure was shaping his Iran negotiations. "I don't care about the midterms," he said to his Cabinet two weeks later, dismissing the idea that Iran could wait him out on peace talks. Top Republicans tell us Trump's response — lashing out ineffectively — could be a preview of how he'll play his cards over the next 2½ years as his power wanes. He'll technically be a lame duck after November's midterms. A favorable midterm environment could hand Democrats the House, even with Republicans' redistricting edge. The Senate is in play, too. "The Senate is now behaving like the Senate," said a longtime Trump ally who knows Congress well. "More to come. If he loses the Senate, his presidency will be effectively over. Yet he's acting like it doesn't matter." I wonder, are "checks and balances" still in place and working?