Holding the retreat at a Trump property threatens to ignite the same kind of criticism that dogged Trump’s first term: that he has sought to personally profit from his public position.

Both Republicans will now advance to the April 1 special election, where they are expected to be heavy favorites in the solid GOP districts.

Trump’s move to pause all federal grants and loans is a “legitimate exercise of executive oversight,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., who is often considered an institutionalist who has insisted upon the importance of Congressional power. “I don’t think putting a hold on things is extraordinary.”