There’s one word Donald Trump clearly doesn’t like to hear: “No.” And yet, it’s precisely what Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been forced to tell the president quite a bit over the last year or so — not because the South Dakota Republican necessarily disagrees with the White House’s agenda, but because Thune hasn’t had the votes to give Trump everything he wants.
One GOP senator, who requested anonymity to discuss the internal dynamics, told MS NOW last month that Trump and Thune “have an awkward relationship.” The lawmaker added, “It’s awkward for everybody.”
This is especially true of the president’s top legislative priority, a sweeping voter suppression package he’s labeled the SAVE America Act that Republicans have already conceded they can’t pass. Trump, apparently furious by Congress’ inability to meet his demands, has increasingly turned against his own party’s Senate leader.
During a campaign-style event in Georgia this week, the president told supporters, “[House Speaker] Mike Johnson and Congress have done a great job, but we’re having a hard time in the Senate. The Senate, what they’re doing, it’s just not right.” The Republican added, “It’s like the Senate is where you send things you want them to die. We’re not going to be able to take it much longer.”
He didn’t elaborate as to what would happen after he’s no longer content to “take it,” though Trump specifically told attendees to “call John Thune” and demand that the GOP-led Senate pass the president’s anti-voting legislation.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed the message during Thursday’s briefing.
Asked about the president’s perspective on the Senate majority leader, Leavitt told reporters that Trump’s “patience is running out” with Thune. (She also didn’t say what would happen when the president’s patience does run out.)
The mild-mannered South Dakotan struggled to hide his aggravation when asked for a reaction to Leavitt’s comments. “Maybe she or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes,” Thune told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Referring to the legislative arithmetic, the Senate majority leader added, “It’s 50 around here. And, so, instead of pointing the finger at Republicans, they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats.”
For those familiar with Thune and his career, this is about as publicly angry as he gets. What’s more, while history is filled with examples of presidents clashing privately with Senate majority leaders, it’s extraordinary to see the White House launch this kind of public offensive against Thune.
Whether the White House understands this or not, Thune is not Trump’s problem. Under the Senate’s rules, the president’s voter suppression plan would need 60 votes to advance. Trump’s solution to this is to eliminate the filibuster rule, but (a) Thune doesn’t have the votes to make that happen; and (b) even if he did, the anti-voting bill still wouldn’t have the votes to pass.
The president’s “patience” with the majority leader, in other words, is irrelevant: Trump could try to orchestrate Thune’s ouster, but his successor would tell the president the same thing.
With this in mind, a variety of GOP senators are rallying behind Thune, exacerbating tensions between Trump and his own party’s Senate conference roughly 100 days before the midterm elections.
“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,” Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told Politico.
Stepping back, I’m mindful of the fact that Trump reflexively looks for someone to blame after failure. He pushed for a radical anti-voting proposal; it’s not going well, so he needs a fall guy who isn’t him. Holding Thune responsible is convenient, even if it doesn’t make sense.
But it’s also a sign of things to come: If the GOP struggles in the midterm elections in November, the White House has already laid the groundwork: The president will effectively, if not literally, declare, “Don’t blame me; it’s Thune’s fault.”
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