NRCC chief Steve Stivers walks a tightrope trying to save the Republican majority

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Being a Republican lawmaker under President Trump can be like walking a tightrope, one that may wobble with the press of a "tweet" button.

But Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, may face the most challenging high-wire act of all: protecting the GOP's House majority in the 2018 midterms with a mix of districts where Trump is sometimes an asset and other times a liability. Like a member of the Flying Wallendas, Stivers could pull off the death-defying stunt or watch fellow Republicans plunge to their electoral doom.

Keeping the House will require bucking both a potentially Democratic political climate and recent historical precedent. Dating back to Franklin D. Roosevelt, the president's party has lost seats in the House in their first midterm election every time except for when Republicans gained seats in 2002 under President George W. Bush following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. That's no simple feat.

"I think we have a fight coming our way, and we know it," Stivers said in a wide-ranging interview with the Washington Examiner. "If we can get some big things done and make a difference for the American people, I feel really good about our chances."

In between bites of a buffalo chicken sandwich slathered in ranch dressing and glasses of lemonade at Max & Erma's restaurant in nearby Hilliard, Stivers is clear about the need for congressional Republicans to pass big-ticket items, especially tax reform. The four-term lawmaker knows if they fail, Democrats will be ready to run against their inaction next year in their campaign to give House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the speaker's gavel again.