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What's happening inside the Republican party these days? Evan though the GOP controls the executive and legislative branches, there is an odd fracture taking place. President Trump has escalated his attacks on sitting Republicans in Congress. Meanwhile, certain high-profile GOP senators have announced their retirement. It is indeed a strange time in Washington.

Senator Flake's Burning Criticism of Trump

This week, Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) announced on the Senate floor in dramatic fashion that he would not seek reelection in 2018. He delivered strong remarks that seemed to be a direct rebuke of President Trump's politics. The President has “a flagrant disregard for truth and decency,” Flake thundered. He touted the post-WWII global order that the U.S. has led. But he acknowledged that western world leaders seem to be abandoning the rules and values that made them great. "Despotism loves a vacuum and our allies are now looking elsewhere for leadership. Why are they doing this? None of this is normal," Flake said.

"It is also clear to me for the moment that we have given in or given up on the core principles in favor of a more viscerally satisfying anger and resentment," he added.

GOP Retirement Bubble

Furthermore, Senator Flake is announced his resignation only after Senator Bob Corker recently did himself. Corker and Trump have been trading public insults on twitter and via the media for what seems like weeks now.

The extent of the public criticism within the GOP right now would have been unthinkable in, say, the Bush administration. Yet, as Trump stays in office longer, the silence from the rest of the party grows louder. It speaks more the GOP's strategy of handling its president whose approval ratings are not doing well. A recent Fox News poll had Trump's approval at 38%. It's better for the GOP if they have unity around the President among their congressional candidates. Flake was going clearly going against any consensus. His vocal opposition potential could have complicated his reelection in an already red state like Arizona.

Corker and Flake are not alone.

In the House, Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Charlie Dent (R-PA), Pat Tiberi (R-OH), and Dave Reichert (R-WA) have all announced their retirement. This mass exodus signifies that the establishment simply will walk out in protest.