Republicans fear looking ‘out of touch’ on key issues because party keeps appealing ‘to our loony folks,’ report says

NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsRepublicans fear looking ‘out of touch’ on key issues because party keeps appealing ‘to our loony folks,’ report says‘People are feeling it,’ Senate Majority Leader John Thune said of elevated gas pricesBrendan Rascius in New York Monday 13 April 2026 19:00 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2956720","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/republicans-congress-iran-war-gas-prices-b2956720.html","title":"Republicans fear looking ‘out of touch’ as they appeal to ‘loony folks:’ report"}}CloseTrump says US will blockade Strait of Hormuz after Iran talks end without dealSign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailGet our free Inside Washington emailEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_INSIDE_WASHINGTON","regTitle":"Inside Washington","subscriptionGroup":"inside_washington","subscriptionGroupId":"af764e04-87eb-45e6-a84b-a7455ba70a1e","type":"inside_washington","pathPrefix":"/news/world/americas/us-politics","associatedAuthors":["Eric Garcia","John Bowden"],"title":"Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox","mobileTitle":"Get our free Inside Washington email","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/insideWashington1_1.png","label":"I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email","newsletterKey":"receiveInsideWashingtonNews","regSourceSection":"US politics","regSourceMethod"...