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Republicans in Congress are learning to tune out President Trump's controversial Twitter rants.

Trump's explosive tweetstorm alleging that former President Barack Obama wiretapped his business and campaign organizations is the sort of event that would have consumed House and Senate Republicans in the past. Instead, the intelligence committees announced they would include the charges in their investigations, and then most caucus members simply moved on.

Having grown accustomed to his unorthodox style, the bar has been raised for tweets that merit a GOP freak-out, especially with higher priorities at hand, such as healthcare reform.

As Republicans departed Washington for the weekend, they were aware that it might bring a Trump Twitter tirade, just as last weekend did. No matter, many just shrugged.

"It's part of the new normal," Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said in an interview. "The president's allowed to make pronouncements on anything he likes; we really need to do our work."

Trump's use of Twitter has broken the rules of presidential communication. The president has used the social medium to attack political enemies, threaten foreign countries, goad private corporations and make statements either disproven or unsupported by facts.

Each time, congressional Republicans are bombarded with questions. Do they agree with what Trump said? Do they agree that he said it at all?

They were initially rattled by the president's actions, as well as that they were expected to answer for them. But over time, Republicans have learned not to get distracted from legislative business. They've also grown a thicker skin when it comes to refusing to answer questions about statements and behavior they can't necessarily explain, anyway.

"What Trump's outbursts are actually doing for the conference is honing our ability to weed out and stop responding to things that don't matter," a senior Republican House aide said, requesting anonymity in order to speak candidly. "It has made us more disciplined."

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A second senior Republican aide referred to Trump's unfounded allegations that Obama "wiretapped" him, made last weekend in multiple Twitter posts, as "errant tweets" that wouldn't impact the party's legislative agenda. Indeed, healthcare arguably dominated the week.

To the extent that Republicans are still concerned about Trump's Twitter habit, that anxiety resides in the Senate. And, particularly, Republican senators worry about the president's habit of spreading obviously false information over the medium.

In interviews with the Washington Examiner, Republican senators focused on the issue of credibility.

They accepted, in some cases grudgingly, in others, admiringly, the reach Trump has via Twitter. Through a single, clunkily-worded tweet, often posted without consulting, or even alerting, his White House communications team, Trump often drives public opinion and the news cycle.

But they're still uncomfortable with the president's habit of being cavalier with the truth.

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"Anytime you're saying or tweeting something that's factually incorrect, that hurts your credibility. And at some point in time, your credibility isn't where it needs to be," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis, said. "I'm always concerned about that, the president ought to be concerned about that."

The White House has defended Trump's controversial tweets. Sometimes, that has meant rejecting critics' charges that Trump misled on the facts. Other times, that defense has taken the form of a suggestion that the president was making a broader argument that is, overall, accurate.

Trump's supporters often say that journalists are making the mistake of taking Trump "literally," rather than paying attention to the larger point he is making on a particular topic.

Some Republicans say that might have been acceptable for a presidential candidate, but it is dangerous for a president, given the scrutiny paid to his words, both domestically and around the world.

"He's got a way of doing business that's different from anybody I've met; it seems to work for him. But the difference from being a candidate and being president is pretty real," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said. "When you make a statement as president, regardless of the medium, people tend to take you literally."

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For Republicans, Trump's Twitter outbursts are becoming white noise - Washington Examiner