Throughout President Bush’s tenure, there were always a few mavericks, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who would vote against the wishes of the White House.

But with seven months left in the president’s second term, there are now more than just a few.

In recent weeks, GOP lawmakers have broken with the White House on the farm bill, the Senate war supplemental, tax extenders and other measures.

This is in sharp contrast to 2007, when Bush issued many veto threats and for the most part, Republicans backed him. That unity led to significant political GOP victories on funding for the Iraq war and appropriations bills.

Last week, the House passed a defense authorization bill 384-23 despite a White House veto. Twenty of the 23 “no” votes came from Democrats and every GOP leader backed the measure, which tries to counter a White House directive seeking to curb the use of earmarks.

The Senate war supplemental vote, meanwhile, was a big win for Democrats as 25 Republicans bucked the president to back the funding bill that called for expanded veterans’ benefits programs. The legislation, however, faces obstacles in the House because conservative Democrats are criticizing it for not adhering to pay-as-you-go budgetary rules.

Meanwhile, 100 House Republicans broke with Bush on the farm bill, and legislation to change the nation’s policy on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was overwhelmingly passed even though the White House initially balked at it.

A tax extender package cleared the House last week with the help of 35 Republicans, though it fell short of a veto-proof majority and faces hurdles in the Senate.

And in an unusual bipartisan rebuke, the House Intelligence Committee admonished the White House for failing to brief key congressional panels on Israel’s attack on an alleged Syrian nuclear reactor.

In its conference report, approved last week, the House Intelligence Committee stated that the White House’s delayed consultation violated the National Security Act of 1947.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), the ranking member of the panel, late last month criticized the White House’s tardiness in briefing the relevant committees on the Israel-Syria issue.

Hoekstra said that “a trusting environment between the administration and Congress does not exist.’’

During the 2006 election cycle Democrats accused Republicans of being a “rubber stamp” for Bush, and they will undoubtedly revive some of those criticisms this year. Yet there are fewer rubber stamps around.

Republicans are distancing themselves from Bush. How the president deals with this growing problem will go a long way in determining how successful his last months in office will be.