Republicans are facing growing pressure over high prices before the midterms — and some of their own senators are fuming that Congress is spending valuable time on college sports.
Even some supporters of the legislation are unhappy with that choice ahead of the crucial midterms, The Washington Sun reported Thursday.
“If you think moms and dads, when they lie down to sleep at night, are worried about whether the football coaches are happy, you need to back off the crank,” Sen. John Kennedy (R- LA) told reporters this week.
Kennedy said lawmakers should be working on the cost of living instead.
“We haven’t,” he said. “We haven’t done anything since the One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) voiced a similar concern, writing in a social media post that the Senate is focused on issues voters “don’t even care about.”
“We’re just not doing what we should be doing to deal with issues you care about,” Curtis posted on X.
The Protect College Sports Act has more than 70 senators and would set nationwide rules for college athlete compensation, transfers and eligibility, according to The Sun. But the time spent on it has reportedly left lawmakers frustrated.
“Voter concerns about high prices have rattled Republicans in key battleground races across the country, with some calling on Trump to end the war in Iran and take actions to lower the record cost of diesel, which is hitting farmers hard across the Midwest,” the publication said Thursday.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said lawmakers could take up a bill aimed at protecting consumers from rising costs tied to data centers next week.
But, as The Sun put it, “even that wasn’t a sure thing.”