Republicans fear that tension between Donald Trump and the Senate’s top GOP lawmaker could sabotage the party’s midterm prospects.
GOP lawmakers are frustrated by the charged silence between the president, 80, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, 65, who, according to Thune, speak only on an “as-needed basis.”
“We need to be talking up the wins, talking about how crazy Democrats are, and instead we are knifing each other,” one GOP senator told CNN.
At the root of the friction between the two men is Thune’s stated inability to pass Trump’s “Save America Act,” which would impose new proof-of-citizenship rules and other requirements that voting rights advocates say would disenfranchise large numbers of Americans.
While the House of Representatives passed a version of the bill, the president’s flagship legislation does not have the votes to clear the Senate, where Democrats have also wielded the filibuster—the 60-vote threshold needed to advance most legislation.
Privately, Thune has been direct with Trump about the legislation’s improbability. As a result, Trump has publicly blasted Thune over the impasse. Last week, when asked Wednesday whether Thune was still “the man for the job,” the president was coy.
“We’re going to find out. I’ll let you know,” he said.
Spokespeople for Thune and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Thune, for his part, has also been repeatedly blindsided by the president. Trump moved to oust Sen. John Cornyn, a key Thune ally, in favor of MAGA-aligned candidate Ken Paxton. The president has also stalled the renewal of key surveillance authorities used by U.S. intelligence agencies in protest and refused to sign a bipartisan housing bill Republicans hoped to tout ahead of the midterms.
The South Dakota senator has also been tasked with voicing concerns from GOP senators who are afraid to speak out against the president, making him a scapegoat in the eyes of the administration, lawmakers told CNN.
“I would say we’re all longing for a relationship with the White House where we work more in harmony,” Republican Sen. John Curtis told the outlet.
Sen. Jim Justice echoed a similar sentiment, calling the infighting “not really productive” in a statement to CNN. “There’s no point in going round and round and round.”
Senators fear the standoff between Trump and Thune will only worsen following the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime Thune ally and the president’s golf buddy. It also comes at a time when Republicans are trailing the Democrats by 8 points, according to a poll released by CNN last week.
“If you don’t watch out, you’re gonna make things much, much, much worse because we’re gonna lose seats and that will make it worse for the president,” Justice said.
