GOP senator says Donald Trump's executive order has "the appearance of religious ban"

Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) said Sunday night he fears President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration went too far, tweeting that the order has "the appearance of religious ban."

"I share the president's desire to protect our nation from harm," Heller said in a string of tweets. "I agree that better vetting and border protection measures are necessary. That's why I support the thorough vetting of individuals entering our country. However, I am deeply troubled by the appearance of religious ban. The use of an overly broad executive order is not the way to strengthen national security. I encourage the administration to partner with Congress to find a solution."

Heller's comments come after Rudy Giuilani, the former New York City mayor and top Trump surrogate, said the executive order was an attempt to legally carry out Trump's promise of a Muslim ban. 

And while other Republican legislators — such as Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Rob Portman — have said Trump's order was hastily cobbled together and poorly implemented, few explicitly said it had a religious test, which is unconstitutional.

Most GOP legislators who spoke out against the order called it "too broad."

Heller is the only Republican up for re-election in 2018 in a state Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election.

That puts a giant target on his back from Democrats, who hope to pick him off next November.