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Hes one of the most decent people you ever want to meet. He and Jill are very good people. And you disagree with people you like. So I dont see where it helps us trying to get into a food fight with him, said Graham, a top Trump ally.

The GOP is more likely to take back the House next fall than the Senate, given the latters staggered map, and Republicans are only starting to chip away at a president who governs in precisely the opposite manner to his incendiary predecessor, Donald Trump. In Orlando, where the House GOP held a three-day retreat to start plotting its path back to the majority, Republicans coalesced around a midterm message that hits Biden on immigration, policing, climate change and raising taxes.

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) speaks during a House Select Subcommittee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. | Stefani Reynolds/Pool via AP

That will have a negative impact on not just his popularity, but on the country's economy, at a time when we're just starting to come out of Covid, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) told reporters at the retreat, referring to policy items on Bidens wishlist. As people see what he's doing and it's Nancy Pelosi, it's AOC, it's that socialist wing of the party that's driving the agenda that's not what he ran on.

The GOPs reluctance to make Biden into a bogeyman stems from both a confidence that his policies are unpopular enough on their own and, for some Republicans, a personal relationship with the president. But not taking the opportunity to more concretely define Biden something Trump also struggled to do during the 2020 campaign could backfire for Republicans.

Its also a stark contrast from the GOPs approach toward Obama, who faced racist birtherism accusations and was already grappling with Tea Party demonstrations around the country within his first 100 days in office. And the fixation on Hunter Biden that energized anti-Biden conservatives during last years presidential campaign isn't part of GOP leaders current strategy.

They are having a hell of a time trying to put a negative label on him, said Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), of Biden. Its a real dilemma.

Biden is hovering above 50 percent approval, but even that might not be enough to save Pelosis control of the House. A president with an approval rating of more than 50 percent typically loses 14 seats in his partys first midterm, according to Gallup. The GOP only needs to flip five seats to seize back power in 2022, and theyll likely have forthcoming redistricting on their side. If Biden dips below 50 percent, things could get even worse.

So far, Bidens approval ratings are significantly higher than Trumps, but lower than Obamas, according to recent surveys from Pew, the Washington Post and Reuters. His $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid bill has proved popular, and there are early indications that more spending on infrastructure could also win public support. Biden is expected to tout both the Covid and infrastructure plans during his first joint address to Congress on Wednesday night.

Yet senior Republicans arent sweating Bidens job approval ratings. Scalise called them stagnant and argued theres a honeymoon period for any new president. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), head of the House GOPs campaign arm, expressed confidence that the president's numbers would start to deteriorate. And House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Bidens sub-50-percent approval on handling of the border, as well as his marks on the economy, could spell trouble for the president.

They really ought to be worried, McCarthy said of Democrats in an interview with POLITICO.

Republicans have settled on attacking Biden as a moderate candidate who's now governing as a liberal, led around by progressive senators like Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). But compared with their relatively nuanced criticisms of Biden, House Republicans are far more comfortable going after Pelosi. It's a return to one of the GOPs greatest hits, recalling their Fire Pelosi rallying cry following the 2010 passage of Obamacare a slogan that's getting a reprise.

During a private presentation to the House GOP in Orlando, Emmer revealed internal polling that showed Pelosi is one of the least popular politicians in the country, with her numbers dropping further in the last two months, according to a source in the room. The National Republican Congressional Committee chair noted that her numbers were particularly low in the Midwest, though YouGov data shows Pelosi still polls higher than Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer or Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Meanwhile, internal polling from the National Republican Senatorial Committee in February showed a narrow majority offering a favorable view of Biden but Schumer and Pelosi underwater. A plurality of respondents in that survey said theyd support a GOP candidate as a check on Bidens agenda over a Democrat who would help approve it. The rest of the polling focused on portraying Bidens policies as unpopular.

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We can have disagreements, but we need to make sure that we're unified and in one place. We're seeing it at this conference, which is: firing Nancy Pelosi and stopping the socialist agenda, Emmer said in an interview. Everybody is unified on that.

The desire to make Hunter Biden a political liability for the president hasnt totally disappeared in the GOP, especially among the Trump wing of the party. On Monday, a group of Republicans called on Bidens ATF nominee to probe reports that the Secret Service intervened in an investigation involving Hunter Bidens gun. But aside from Hunter, Republicans cant seem to find a bad thing to say about the president.

Freshman Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) raved about an exchange he had with Biden over the Floridian's former career as a firefighter during a White House meeting on infrastructure, calling the moment heartfelt. Summarizing Republicans dilemma, another GOP lawmaker said that "its hard to hit someone who reminds you of your grandpa.

Hes likable, hes relatable theyre not having him omnipresent, said South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican, of the White Houses strategy. Still, Thune added, Biden will be judged by his policies. And I think thats whats going to [happen] eventually, whether people like him personally or not.

Everett reported from Washington. Olivia Beavers contributed to this report.

Read more:
Republicans got personal with Obama. Why they won't do the same to Biden. - POLITICO