Republicans battered by constituent complaints about President Donald Trump's economic agenda are increasingly telling voters they are working the phones with the administration rather than openly criticizing the president, according to an NBC News report.

The network reports that Republicans have grown so inundated with tirades and gripes about Trump that some now describe their calls to the White House as being on hold. "Some Republicans …, when asked to come up with an answer to voters' economic struggles, have opted to phone a friend," NBC News writes, citing at least three public appearances at which Republicans pressed over the administration's economic policies claimed to be in "direct contact with Cabinet officials in the Trump administration to try to address" the complaints.

The comments come as an increasing number of Republicans are distancing themselves from Trump amid his sinking approval ratings — even as critics call the president "tone-deaf" and in denial about economic realities. Those pressures are surfacing with the 2026 midterm elections on the horizon, a backdrop that raises the stakes of each public exchange over the cost of living.

Among them, former Rep. Mike Rogers said Thursday night that he had spoken this week with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, as the administration wages a trade war with Canada. Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods have hit states where Republicans are defending both their party and the president, particularly Michigan and other states along the Canadian border.

"I would like to see the deal made," Rogers said when pressed. "I actually called the White House this week and talked to the Secretary of Commerce about getting the deal done."

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, likewise said she has been on the phone with a member of Trump's Cabinet in response to complaints about rising heating oil prices in Maine. According to NBC News, Collins pointed specifically to Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

"I have been the leading proponent of the low-income home heating program in Congress," Collins said. "We increased it last year, and just today, I was on the phone with a Cabinet secretary asking for early relief from these prices by getting the [Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program] funding out early right now, and I'm hopeful that will happen next week."

The program she cited, LIHEAP, provides federal aid to help low-income households cover home heating and cooling costs, which is why the timing of its funding release matters for households confronting higher heating-oil bills.

Republican Rep. John James of Michigan, pressed by voters over rising heating oil prices, fuel costs, and mounting trade costs, also said he has been in contact with the administration over Canadian tariffs.

"I've actually called out the administration specifically talking with the trade ambassador and saying that we must get back to the table, stop acting like children and negotiate a reciprocal, fair and mutually beneficial arrangement to make sure that we can bring our jobs back and protect our industry," James said.

Whether LIHEAP funding is released early, and whether the Canada dispute moves back toward a negotiated deal, are the concrete near-term markers to watch.

According to NBC News, however, such appeals to phone diplomacy do not appear to be winning arguments with voters, with the outlet writing that "Republican pushback on the Trump administration is too little, too late."

The Alternet article carrying the report adds that Trump has spent much of his second term focused on vanity projects intended to affirm his own legacy, and appears to be somewhat unaware of voters' economic gripes.