Scoop: White House tells House Republicans to stop talking about mass deportations

• Nearly half — 49% — of Americans say Trump's mass deportation campaign is too aggressive, including 1 in 5 voters who backed the president in 2024, a Politico poll from January found.

State of play: Blair delivered the message during a policy listening session with House Republicans at their annual retreat in Doral, Florida.

• He encouraged members to focus on deporting violent offenders rather than defending the broader concept of mass removals.
• The advice signals a recalibration by the White House — and reflects growing concern among some Republicans that Democrats are successfully framing Trump's immigration policy as overly sweeping and indiscriminate.

The big picture: Immigration enforcement has been a defining issue for Trump and congressional Republicans, and was a central pillar of their 2024 campaign message.

• The administration has leaned heavily into aggressive enforcement actions in its first year.

• But the killing of two U.S. citizens this year in Minneapolis and reports of U.S. citizens being detained have complicated the politics.

What's next: House Republicans are meeting this week to map out their legislative agenda and strategy for keeping the majority in November's midterms.

• Blair also told members to go out and find "real Americans" to highlight wins in the GOP's sweeping legislative package passed last summer.