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I dont want to criticize them for improving vetting. I think we need to be careful we dont have religious tests in this country," Mitch McConnell said. | AP Photo

After holding back, a growing number of GOP lawmakers came out Sunday in opposition to his refugee directive.

By Burgess Everett and John Bresnahan

01/29/17 10:27 AM EST

Updated 01/29/17 06:45 PM EST

A growing contingent of Republicans is openly questioning President Donald Trump's ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, as key allies and powerful political players broke their silence Sunday to criticize Trump's executive order.

Senate Foreign Relation Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), whom Trump considered picking to be his running mate and, later, secretary of state, called on the president to immediately retool the order.

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We all share a desire to protect the American people, but this executive order has been poorly implemented, especially with respect to green card holders, Corker said in a statement. The administration should immediately make appropriate revisions, and it is my hope that following a thorough review and implementation of security enhancements that many of these programs will be improved and reinstated.

Indeed, while House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have largely given Trump a pass, Republicans who had spent days withholding comment about Trump's order began to publicly criticize him. It started among Republicans who strongly opposed Trump's candidacy for president and began swelling as news stories circulated about green card holders being turned away at airports and public protests grew in scope and volume.

One of the harshest criticisms came from Corker's Tennessee colleague, Sen. Lamar Alexander, who said that while the order is "not explicitly a religious test, it comes close to one which is inconsistent with our American character.

Even GOP supporters of the travel ban want it revised to make it less onerous. House Homeland Security Chairman Mike McCaul (R-Texas), after supporting the executive order earlier this weekend, chastised Trump on Sunday for not coordinating better with Congress.

In light of the confusion and uncertainty created in the wake of the Presidents Executive Order, it is clear adjustments are needed," McCaul wrote in a statement.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) called Trump's action "a common-sense security measure to prevent terrorist attacks." But he wants it altered to address "green card holders and those who've assisted the U.S. armed forces."

And Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), who runs the Senate GOP's political arm, called Trump's moves "overly broad" and said the administration must "fix" it.

"A blanket travel ban goes too far. I also believe that lawful residents of the United States should be permitted to enter the country," Gardner said. Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) said Trump is giving terrorists "another tool to gain sympathy and recruit new fighters."

"We need to work with all allies around the world. This visa ban is the ultimate display of mistrust and will erode our allies' willingness to fight with us," Hurd said.

Seeking to quell the growing chorus of opposition from Republicans, Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said in implementing Trump's order, he will "deem the entry of lawful permanent residents to be in the national interest."

Still, despite the growing criticism, many Republicans are either sitting back to watch how it plays out or gently chiding him over the matter. They dont like the rollout of Trump's executive orders, and they dont know how it affects some American allies overseas, but the majority of GOP lawmakers wary of Trump and his die-hard supporters are either largely standing behind him despite past criticisms or staying quiet altogether.

McConnell was critical of Trumps campaign promises to enact a ban on Muslim immigrants as completely and totally inconsistent with American values. But the Senate GOP leader seemed much less concerned with Trumps actions this weekend to enact a temporary ban on refugees from the seven nations.

The president has a lot of latitude to try to secure the country, and Im not going to make a blanket criticism of this effort, McConnell said on ABCs This Week. However its important to remember that a lot of Muslims are our best sources in the war against terror.

The GOP leader said he would not argue against tightening vetting of refugees but seemed to draw a line in the sand on how Trumps team talks about its refugee pause: I dont want to criticize them for improving vetting. I think we need to be careful we dont have religious tests in this country.

Likewise, Ryan has largely defended Trumps actions. And Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a leading hawk in Congress, said he was "confident" that Trump's moves will "help keep America safe."

"I doubt many Arkansans or Americans more broadly object to taking a harder look at foreigners coming into our country from war-torn nations with known terror networks; I think theyre wondering why we dont do that already," Cotton said.

And Rep. Dan Donovan, the lone Republican congressman from New York City, said, President Trump's decision is in America's best interest.

But new statements in full support of Trump were in short supply on Sunday. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a joint statement that they oppose interpretations of the order that barred green-card holders, interpreters and vetted refugees from entering the United States. They also said that Trump's "executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security." Still, they did not outline concrete steps to overturn Trump's actions via legislation, investigations or congressional hearings.

We fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism," they said. "This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country."

Trump responded that they are "weak on immigration" and "always looking to start World War III."

But even though Trumps order will mostly affect Muslim refugees, it is not the blanket Muslim ban that he once talked about, and on the Sunday shows his surrogates defended it as far less encompassing. That left Republicans walking a fine line between criticizing Trump and avoiding rocking the boat in a presidency that is still less than 10 days old.

It was not a ban; however, I think it was not properly vetted, said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) on CNN's "State of the Union." So you have an extreme vetting proposal that did not get the vetting it should have had. And as a result in the implementation, weve seen some problems.

Among the problems Portman listed was the case of a Cleveland Clinic doctor who was forced to leave despite having a visa to be in the United States. Asked whether sending her out of the country made the U.S. safer, Portman said: No, because shes been properly vetted.

Still, a minority of congressional Republicans are clearly chastising Trump. And most of them did not support his presidential campaign.

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said the order was too broad, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) called it problematic, and Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said: Its unacceptable when even legal permanent residents are being detained or turned away. None of them supported Trump.

I object to the suspension of visas from the seven named countries because we could have accomplished our objective of keeping our homeland safe by immediate implementation of more thorough screening procedures, said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), one of a handful of House members coming out against Trump's action.

GOP Reps. Carlos Curbelo (Fla.), Charlie Dent (Pa.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Justin Amash (Mich.) Barbara Comstock (Va.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), and Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) all criticized Trump as well.

The presidents executive order [goes] beyond the increased vetting actions that Congress has supported on a bipartisan basis and inexplicably applied to Green Card holders, Comstock said. This should be addressed and corrected expeditiously.

Others who have been at odds with Trump were more muted. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who opposed Trump's candidacy, said he had "technical questions" about the president's order but declined to explicitly ding Trump.

"National security is always the federal government's top priority, so I am pleased that the White House is focused on protecting the American people," Lee said in a statement.

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More Republicans chastise Trump over executive order - Politico