All posts tagged "john thune"

Trump privately raging as one of his 'biggest headaches' refuses to budge: report

President Donald Trump is downplaying his frustrations with a key Republican senator, according to a recent report.

Despite a recent public spat, Trump has privately said that Senate Majority Leader John Thune is giving him more trouble than he's let on, wrote Jonathan Lemire in a Tuesday piece for The Atlantic.

A senior adviser told Lemire that Trump considers Thune "one of my biggest headaches."

The frustration with Thune spilled into public view last week, when White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the president's "patience is running out" with Thune. During an event in Georgia that week, Trump also called Thune out as he told attendees to call Thune and demand he pass the SAVE America Act, a stalled voting bill.

Lemire noted that Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday that his relationship with Thune was "fine," however. Axios also reported on Tuesday that Thune plans to attend Trump's midterm GOP convention in Dallas.

Trump's problems with Thune stem from White House pressure on Republicans to gut the filibuster and push through the SAVE America Act, per Lemire. Trump has demanded that the Senate eliminate the 60-vote threshold to pass the SAVE Act, which would require voters to provide proof of citizenship and, critics warn, make casting a ballot harder. Thune has refused to blow up the filibuster to do it.

Lemire pointed out that Thune's resistance contrasts with how "the GOP marched in lockstep to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act tax legislation" last year.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson reiterated to Lemire that the SAVE Act "has always been a top priority for President Trump and it remains one." She added that Trump "will not stop fighting until it is passed."

Dismayed GOP laments Trump's new campaign against Senate leader: 'Just exhausting'

Republicans are responding with exasperation and dismay to President Donald Trump's shot at one of their party leaders, per reports.

Politico reported that GOP senators are standing up to Trump's recent comments, taking issue with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and his inability to pass the SAVE America Act, a proof-of-citizenship voting bill touted by Trump.

At a rally in Georgia on Wednesday, Trump told attendees to "call John Thune" while complaining that "the Senate is a place you send things when you want them to die," and "We're not going to take this any longer. We're not going to take it. I'm trying to be nice," according to Politico.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed those remarks on Thursday, saying that Trump's patience is "running out" with Thune. But GOP senators also reacted in comments to Politico, where they were confused by what Trump wanted Thune to do to pass the SAVE America Act.

"John can't put a gun to people's heads and make them vote a particular way," Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) told Politico.

"This idea that he can just command members of the Republican conference to get in line is just a fantasy. So I think it's unfair," Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said, per Politico. "I don't know who it was that sold the president on this idea, that this was obtainable, but it's creating a circular firing squad for Republicans."

An anonymous Senate GOP aide described Trump's pressure on Thune as "just exhausting" in comments made to Politico. "What leverage does he have over the Senate?" the aide asked.

Thune defended himself too, saying, "It's 50 around here, and so instead of, you know, pointing the finger at Republicans, they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats. And if there are Republicans that they think are gettable, get on the phone."

Trump wants to sabotage his own party to send a message about himself: biographer

A Trump biographer suggested that Trump is sabotaging his own party ahead of the midterms for a selfish reason.

On an episode of The Daily Beast Podcast, Michael Wolff said that he believes Trump's strategy is to lay the groundwork for the Republicans to take the blame for losing the midterms, and his goal is to prove that the party needs him.

"You can actually kind of get inside his head, and that's what he's doing. He is now undermining the Republicans," Wolff said, adding that it's to "blame it on them, to reinforce the fact that they can't do anything if he's not running."

Wolff said that Trump's strategy when losing is "he just denies it [and blames] it on somebody else," and "it would seem now that he has gone down the path to do almost everything to undermine the Republicans."

On that point, Wolff looks to the bipartisan housing bill that Trump refuses to sign as a sign of undermining the GOP, explaining, "This was actually a bipartisan win that might have helped them during the midterms."

By refusing to sign the housing bill, "what he's stolen from the Republicans is the ability to show that they care, and this would have been very helpful" for them ahead of the midterms, which are now four months away.

Co-host Joanna Coles agreed that Trump is prepared to blame the GOP ranks, predicting, "He's going to blame John Thune (R-SD)," the Senate majority leader, and "He's going to blame John Cornyn (R-TX)," the veteran senator who was "scooped out of the way" by the Trump-endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the primaries.

"He's good at blaming," Wolff said.

Trump exposed by recent side-by-side photo flagged by journalist: 'Clearly lying'

A journalist flagged how a Trump lie was exposed by a recent photo.

On an episode of The Daily Beast Podcast, host Joanna Coles said she's "slightly fascinated" that Trump "gets away" with lying about his height. Coles said she noticed he's "shrinking" after looking at a picture of him standing next to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).

"He's shrinking into the giant shrimp that Steve Bannon said that he was," Coles said. "I think that Donald Trump is literally shrinking as we see him."

Trump's height has been reported as 6'3" by other outlets citing his medical records. Coles said that Thune stands at 6'4", and when she saw them standing next to each other earlier this week, she thought Trump is "definitely not 6'2"," she said.

"John Thune looks like he's got four inches on him there," Coles said. "I know size isn't supposed to matter, but I think it does in this situation."

Trump biographer Michael Wolff noted, "Donald Trump is 80, and, you know, you shrink."

Thune looked more "presidential" standing next to Trump, Coles added, while Wolff described Trump as "grotesque, clownish."

Coles joked that Trump has "accelerated shrinking syndrome," a diagnosis she made up on the spot because of its initials.

GOP senators ready to pounce on Trump's Iran deal fall guy: analyst

Republican Senators sense an opportunity and are ready to attack Trump's Iran deal fall guy, a political analyst wrote.

Vice President JD Vance is stuck with explaining the Iran deal, and the GOP has no problem going after him, Joe Perticone wrote for The Bulwark.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) pointed his finger at Vance and called him the "architect of the deal" with Iran in a recent post. The deal left Graham "concerned" and said it's "imperative" that Vance be a part of a review, the senator wrote.

The deal reportedly includes a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran, reportedly financed by the Gulf Cooperation Council, but the Memorandum of Understanding laying out the conditions is still under wraps.

Republican senators are either propping Vance up "as integral to the process" of the deal or "claiming they haven't seen him address," Perticone wrote.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told a reporter that "somebody will need to" explain the deal, "whether it's the vice president—but for sure, our members are going to have a lot of questions about it," Perticone noted.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) likewise held Vance responsible for the deal, saying, "It sounds to me like for two months he's played a significant role," according to Perticone.

Other senators made their doubts about the Iran deal clear. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) said, "I think they've got an MOU right now versus a treaty," according to Perticone.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) told Perticone, "We'll have to see exactly what this is, but you would think it'd have to be ratified."

'Incredibly hostile' GOP senators hammer Todd Blanche in closed-door meeting: report

A meeting between Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Senate Republicans Thursday went disastrously, according to reports.

The meeting was held to discuss Trump's $1.7 billion "anti-weaponization" fund. People familiar with what happened behind closed doors called it a "s---show", according to a Semafor reporter.

Mediaite noted that Republican lawmakers have been worried "as administration officials refuse to promise that the cash will be withheld from violent rioters who assaulted law enforcement officers on January 6."

According to a post by Andrew Desiderio, a senior congressional reporter for Punchbowl News, the meeting with Blanche lasted nearly two hours, and "was incredibly hostile, per multiple attendees."

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) "confronted Acting AG Blanche about the weaponization fund at the Senate GOP meeting today," Semafor's Burgess Everett wrote on X. "Being described as a 's---show' per people familiar."

In a post by Spectrum News' Reuben Jones, Tillis described the fund as "stupid on stilts" and "tyranny."

CNN's Manu Raju reported that "Blanche is facing stiff resistance" and Republicans "also warn that a major immigration enforcement/reconcilation [sic] bill they want to pass could be derailed with the issue hovering."

"Am told most senators voiced opposition to the fund," Raju added. "Hardly any came to its defense. Lot of unhappy Rs about the $1.8B fund."

According to Desiderio, "all" GOP senators spoke "in opposition to weaponization fund."

GOP senator admits Trump's new scheme 'doesn't pass the smell test'

A GOP senator said on Wednesday that Trump's $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund "doesn't pass the smell test."

Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) appeared on CNN to react to Trump's fund, created as part of a lawsuit settlement with the IRS. Anchor Dana Bash noted that Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he's "not a big fan" of the $1.8 billion fund, which critics expect will benefit Trump allies.

"My first reaction was, 'This doesn't pass the smell test,'" Curtis said. "That said, I'm willing to learn more about it and its intent."

Curtis said he expects to see "a lot of bipartisan questioning of whether this is a good idea," but he refused to say whether he would block it.

"I have to know more about what it is," Curtis repeated. "But my initial reaction is, look, from all outward appearances, this doesn't pass the smell test."

Blindsided Republicans panic that Trump just cost them the Senate: report

Republicans are worried that Trump's latest endorsement will cost them control of the Senate, according to a new report.

A Republican familiar with Texas politics told NOTUS that Trump's endorsement of the state's Attorney General Ken Paxton could cost the GOP its Senate majority in the upcoming midterms, according to a report.

Trump endorsed Paxton on Tuesday instead of Sen. John Cornyn ahead of the Texas runoff for the Republican Senate nomination.

"As late as Monday afternoon, Senate leaders believed Trump was going to stay out of the race," a source told NOTUS. "Especially with the runoff just a week away."

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on Tuesday it would be harder to win the Senate seat with Paxton as the nominee, according to NOTUS.

"I think Paxton can win, yeah, but I think it'd be three times more expensive," Graham said.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) agreed, telling reporters, "We've got to raise a lot more money now," and that the endorsement "complicates" the GOP's effort to keep its Senate majority.

"The fact that the president would choose to endorse not Sen. Cornyn, but a candidate who probably is going to struggle mightily in the general, is a problem," Murkowski added, according to NOTUS.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) had been trying "to sway Trump toward endorsing Cornyn or, at the very least, staying out of the race," an aide told NOTUS.

Trump told Thune in a phone call on Monday that "he was planning on endorsing Paxton but stopped short of saying it outright," a senior Republican aide said to NOTUS. "Thune left the conversation with little clarity about what Trump would do."

'Take the hint': Senate GOP leaders openly hope Trump shuts up about vulnerable Republican

Senate GOP leaders are hoping that Trump will stop badmouthing a Republican they need to keep a majority, according to a new report.

Punchbowl News reported on Friday that Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) had kind words for Vice President JD Vance, and GOP leaders hope it's a sign the White House won't attack her.

"Collins is the only Republican who can win in a state as unique as Maine," Punchbowl News noted. "A Democratic victory here in November would bring Republicans dangerously close to losing the majority."

Trump has raged against Collins for breaking with her party. Still, GOP leaders continue to see her as "largely a team player," and are hoping "the president would take the hint and resist his urge to slam Collins," Punchbowl News added.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has also "given wide latitude" to Collins to break from the party.

Collins, 73, is seeking a sixth term in November and faces a competitive race that could determine which party controls the Senate. Maine is the only state with a Republican incumbent that Vice President Kamala Harris carried in 2024, and Sabato's Crystal Ball moved the race from "Leans Republican" to "Toss-up" in October.

Collins is now expected to face Graham Platner, a combat veteran turned oyster farmer endorsed by Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, after Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign on April 30, citing fundraising shortfalls. Recent polls had shown Platner leading Mills by double digits before her exit.

'Significant blow': Senate rules referee blows up key piece of Trump's immigration plan

Republicans were dealt a severe setback as the top Senate rule keeper called foul on an immigration enforcement funding package.

Migrant Insider reported that Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough "delivered a significant blow" by stopping the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol reconciliation package, which Republican senators have been pushing as the second step to fully fund immigration enforcement after the months-long Department of Homeland Security shutdown ended.

"MacDonough advised Wednesday that multiple sections of the package are subject to a sixty-vote point of order under the Byrd Rule," according to Migrant Insider, adding that the move is "effectively killing them under a process designed to require only a simple majority."

The parliamentarian wrote that the money for Border Patrol proposed in the reconciliation package "inappropriately funds" non-Homeland Security activities.

"Republicans tried to use the Homeland Security Committee's reconciliation lane to pay for programs that belong in other committees," Migrant Insider explained. "The parliamentarian called the bluff."

According to Migrant Insider, MacDonough also determined that rather than a simple majority, a sixty-vote threshold will be needed to pass $71.7 billion in proposed new spending, which was "the core architecture" of funding for Customs and Border Protection, the parent agency of Border Patrol.

Another $2.5 billion meant for the Department of Homeland Security was also found to conflict with legal frameworks for dealing with migrant children.

Migrant Insider noted that now Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the Budget Committee chair, will have to "redraft and abandon the stripped provisions" before going to a floor vote.