One of the fictions of the 2016 campaign was the belief that the GOP Establishment somehow wished for Hillary Clinton to win, somehow, as long as they could (A) not be blamed for her victory and (B) separate the Presidential campaign from the downballot races. This just wasn't the case. There were more renegade GOP elected officials refusing to endorse the national ticket in 2016 than those who bailed on Goldwater in 1964. More Republican elected officials conspicuously bailed on Trump than Democratic elected officials on McGovern.
The GOP Establishment wanted Trump to win, if only because they viewed him as a Signer-in-Chief who'd sign their bills, and that hasn't changed. They have come to accept that 2/3 of a Republican is better than no Republican at all. They are also aware of the fate of political parties that challenge their incumbent Presidents; iit's a no-win situation. One has to go back to 1856, when James Buchanan challenged Franklin Pierce did a party maintain the White House after their President was significantly challenged for renomination. They're not going to let this happen; any challenge to Trump's renomination will go no further than Pat Buchanan's challenge to Bush 41.
I've said this before and I'll say it again...the GOP establishment believed their brand would hold up better in an HRC administration than it would in a DJT administration, and they were absolutely right. An HRC administration would have given the GOP a built-in scapegoat in an unpopular Democratic president, and a primrose path to victory in 2018. They could keep presenting Obamacare repeal bills which would automatically be vetoed, resulting in no harm, no foul. They could keep making promises, but blame the Democrat in the White House for their failures.
But push came to shove when DJT got elected, and the crap hit the fan. The GOP establishment can't repeal Obamacare, even though they spent six years promising to do so. They pined for a Republican presidential candidate who could surpass 270, and now that they finally did, they won't work with him.
Did Republicans in Congress want Hillary to win in their hearts of hearts? I can't answer that for certain. Would it have made their jobs easier and more secure? Definitely.
