Tensions Flare As Koch Promises To Hold Trump Accountable

INDIAN SPRING, Calif. (AP) — Conservative patriarch Charles Koch and his vast network is vowing to oppose President Donald Trump if and when he deviates from their dedication to "free and open societies."

This weekend alone, Koch raised concerns about whether the Republican president will adopt an "authoritarian" governing style. Koch's chief lieutenants condemned the nascent administration's plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure projects. And the Koch network's many donors lashed out at Trump's push to block immigration from several Muslim-majority countries.

Erick Brimen, one of 550 or so Koch donors, says: "It doesn't do any good for us to be positioned as hating whole classes of people."

The sentiment reflected a formal Koch network statement which said Trump's "travel ban is the wrong approach and will likely be counterproductive."