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Don Young is the rare Republican who’s not afraid of Trump — or of saying he needs to ‘shut up’

Analysis by
Congressional bureau chief|
December 2, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. EST
Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) on the opening day of the 117th Congress on Jan. 3. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)
correction

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that four House Republicans who had voted to impeach President Donald Trump were among a list of five criticized by him, along with others, in a recent statement. Only three of those five voted to impeach. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) did not. The article has been corrected.

Rep. Don Young knew the call would not end well, as the Alaska Republican forcefully rejected Donald Trump’s plea to oppose the more than $1 trillion infrastructure legislation.

How did the former president take the news?

“Not well,” Young recalled, but there wasn’t any shouting. “No, no, no, no, no.”

Young, 88, the longest-serving member of Congress, thought about all the contradictions he saw in Trump, particularly the chaotic style that made him a politically toxic figure.