Last week, I wrote an article noting that Republicans in Congress were showing signs of life, by standing up for themselves instead of just allowing Donald Trump to do whatever he feels like doing at any particular moment. I ended by wondering if this would prove to be a trend, since Republicans in Congress will have to face their voters later this year in the midterm elections -- meaning their own self-interest (in getting re-elected) might become more important to them than appeasing Trump. Several developments that seem to point to Republicans being more willing to contradict Trump have appeared since then, although none of them were as dramatic as actually voting against Trump's wishes (as happened last week). But they're still worth pointing out.

The first instance of this came as blowback to Fed Chair Jerome Powell releasing an extraordinary video that revealed he was the subject of a grand jury investigation. Powell claimed that this was political pressure on him to lower interest rates, as Trump has long wanted him to do. But weaponizing the Department of Justice against the country's central bank proved to be a bridge too far for many Republicans. Even his own Treasury secretary was reportedly not happy about the move, warning Trump that it could mean it'll be harder for them to confirm Powell's successor (as his term as chair is over in only a few months). The move reportedly took several members of the Trump administration by surprise, meaning it could be one of those "the right hand doesn't know what the far-right hand is doing" situations. But it's certainly notable that not everyone within Trump's inner circle supported the move.

Other Republicans also pushed back on Trump:

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) suggested the investigation into renovations at the Fed's headquarters is politically motivated, and threatened to oppose Trump's nominees to the central bank until the matter is resolved.

"If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none," Tillis said in a statement on Sunday. "It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question."

As a member of the Senate Banking Committee, where Republicans hold a 13-11 majority, Tillis' vote is pivotal in getting any nominations out to the full Senate floor.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) also said it's "clear" that the probe is "nothing more than an attempt at coercion" by the White House, adding further that Congress ought to investigate the Justice Department if it doesn't drop the investigation.

"If the Department of Justice believes an investigation into Chair Powell is warranted based on project cost overruns -- which are not unusual -- then Congress needs to investigate the Department of Justice," Murkowski said. "The stakes are too high to look the other way: if the Federal Reserve loses its independence, the stability of our markets and the broader economy will suffer."

They weren't the only ones, either:

Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, took the rare step of weighing in, saying that "it's really important that it get resolved quickly and that there not be any appearance of political interference with the Fed or its activities."

Larry Kudlow, who used to be Trump's National Economic Council director (in his first term), also pushed back, saying: "Why make a martyr out of Jay Powell?" and warning: "Trump will not be able to get his new chairman through the Senate until he withdraws Powell's criminal indictment."

This isn't the only issue Trump is getting some GOP pushback on either. Ever since his raid on Venezuela, Trump has seemed to be deciding which country will be next on his neo-imperialism tour. Bombing Mexico? Overthrowing the government of Cuba? Bombing Iran? But the most ridiculous item on this list is the one that has even Republicans denouncing Trump's plans, because the concept of taking over Greenland (by force, if necessary, even though Denmark is a fellow member of NATO) would also be a bridge too far for Republicans who still retain any semblance of sanity. Political leaders of Denmark and Greenland are scheduled to have a White House meeting tomorrow, after Trump threatened to take over the island "the hard way," if necessary. But already some Republicans are lining up against such a move.

Then there's Trump's new support for a plan proposed by progressives in Congress to force banks to lower credit card interest rates to 10 percent. The reaction to this was pretty predictable, after Trump (gasp!) called up Elizabeth Warren to reportedly offer his support for the idea.

Prominent Republicans, such as House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and two GOP members of the House Financial Services Committee, all piled on to denounce the idea. Other Republicans in Congress also weighed in, saying they were "totally against" the idea and calling it "horrible policy." It remains to be seen how serious about the issue Trump really is -- this could be one of those ideas he initially gets excited about, only to largely forget about it when it comes time to actually implement. But the instant pushback Trump got from Republicans was certainly interesting to hear.

None of these has turned into an open revolt from the Republican side yet. However, the pushback is notable for how strong it has been so far. Republicans are threatening to hold up Trump's Fed appointments over the Powell investigation, and if Trump keeps salivating over a military takeover of Greenland Republicans might just pre-emptively vote to prevent him from doing so.

As I said last week, it's still too early to say that any or all of this qualifies as a real political trend. There is no common thread (other than Donald Trump) that runs through all of them either -- it's not a big ideological fight, it's instead just individual issues where Republicans are finally saying: "This is too much for me, sorry." But my guess is that as this year unfolds -- and as we get closer and closer to the midterm elections -- there are going to be a whole lot more instances where Republicans are going to push back on Donald Trump. Because they're all going to be weighing what their chances for re-election will be if they continue to blindly allow Trump to do whatever he wants, and more and more they may decide that their own self-interest is more important than showing Trump unquestioning fealty.

-- Chris Weigant

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant