WASHINGTON — Just when it looked like the political climate couldn't get worse for President Bush and the Republican Party, more storms have gathered.
This month's abrupt rise in gas prices is fueling new worries about the party's prospects in the fall elections, which have been roiled by controversy over GOP policies on immigration, the federal budget and Iraq.
So when Congress returns today from a spring recess, Republicans face a political landscape even more challenging than when they left town two weeks ago after failing to pass legislation that would crack down on illegal immigration and curb domestic spending.
Since then, gas prices have shot up to more than $3 a gallon in some places. Demonstrations against GOP immigration proposals have continued across the country. A poll shows Bush's approval ratings at new lows -- and the Republican-led Congress' even lower.
"I don't see panic setting in yet, but there's certainly increasing concern when the president is in the 30s [in approval polls] and we're in the 20s," said Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.).
Even Republicans who believe the GOP will retain control of Congress are resigned to losing many seats.
"There's not any margin for error here," said Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.). "But I also think things aren't going to get much worse politically."
They may not, if only because Republicans' prospects have already sunk so low. A recent poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found anti-incumbent sentiment running stronger than at any time since 1994, when Republicans gained control of Congress for the first time in 40 years.
The poll found that 41% of those surveyed thought that this Congress had accomplished less than its recent predecessors -- the most negative evaluation of Congress' record since 1997.
GOP leaders in the House and the Senate hope to counter that complaint by racking up legislative accomplishments in the coming months. But it won't be easy, because many of the problems before them -- such as high gas prices and continuing instability in Iraq -- are largely out of their control. Other issues, such as immigration and the budget, deeply divide the party.
The situation may call for Bush to step in and demand more party unity from Republican lawmakers, who have increasingly kept their distance from the White House as the president's agenda and poll numbers have flagged.
