John Thune

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) — an ally of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — hit back at conservatives' demands for a new brand of leadership once McConnell steps down in a letter to colleagues Tuesday morning.Why it matters: The leader race between Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), John Cornyn (R-Tex.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is heating up, with the general election three weeks away. Some conservative senators are hoping to leverage a tight race for big changes in how the chamber operates. Sen. Mike Lee's (R-Utah) proposals, which he outlined in a letter to colleagues last week, include assurances of more amendment votes and delaying the timeline for picking McConnell's replacement.And Lee has taken new public shots at McConnell's leadership approach.Tills responded Tuesday, saying he believes Lee's concerns are "sincere," but that delaying the leadership election is a bad idea. He said Lee's proposals would "substantially weaken the republican leader."Between the lines: The only leadership candidate to clearly embrace the changes conservatives are pushing is Scott — who Senators and Hill sources have said doesn't have much of a shot.What they're saying: Tillis then made a dig at Republican House chaos. "We are witnessing the downside of a weak-leader model in the House today," he wrote."Two Speakers during a single congress and self-imposed gridlock on legislation hardly seems like a model we want to adopt in the Senate.""I believe delaying the election and creating more hurdles for the republican leader to navigate are unwise, and they will impede our work on behalf of the American people," Tillis said.The other side: "Why would a Republican senator continue to support a system where legislation can be presented for passage without the approval of the majority of the conference? Or one that denies our ability to do our jobs as representatives of our states," Lee responded in a statement to Axios.Catch up quick: This isn't the first back-and-forth between Tillis and Lee over the leadership race. Back in June, Lee and other conservatives were pushing for a new leadership structure — including imposing term limits. Tillis blasted those ideas in a letter, which then prompted a response from Lee.McConnell has also been adamantly against term limits.E

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis (R) on Tuesday circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter warning that some of the reforms being pushed by Senate conservatives would only weaken the next Senate Republican leader and cause the same chaos that is plaguing the House Republican majority. Tillis released his letter in response to a list of procedural [...]

Senate Republicans issued a renewed condemnation of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas in Israel one year after they occurred.

Independent Dan Osborn is gaining unexpected traction in his bid to unseat Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.).

This week, there’s a certain irony to our newsletter being called “At the Races.” And no, it’s not because Pete Rose, Major League Baseball’s all-time hits leader who was banned from baseball for betting on the Cincinnati Reds, died​ Monday at age 83. Betting on the outcome of the congressional elections next month by individuals [...]The post At the Races: Please bet responsibly appeared first on Roll Call.

Sen. JD Vance’s (R-Ohio) debate performance is giving him a shot in the arm to become a leading 2028 presidential contender no matter what happens in November between former President Trump and Vice President Harris. The impact of vice presidential debates on election outcomes is widely considered negligible. But the significance of Tuesday’s debate between [...]

Senators are privately (and publicly) saying they hope Donald Trump stays out of the internal election to replace Mitch McConnell as Senate GOP leader.Why it matters: None of them know — or it's a damn good secret — whether the former president will make an endorsement. But senators and advisors fear a Trump intervention could turn the secret ballot leader election into a public feud."I said, 'Sir, if I was you, I would stay out of the race, because there's no win for you in this,'" Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) told us about a recent call with Trump."I hope not," said Sen. Thom Tillis, when asked if he thinks Trump will weigh in. "I think outside influence could be problematic.""He's offered some views on it to me," Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told us. "It's safe to say he has a pretty consistent prediction of who he thinks it'll be." Hawley said he did not know if Trump would weigh in.Between the lines: This the first real competitive Senate GOP leadership race of the Trump-era, and his endorsement carries a lot of weight with a growing segment of the conference.McConnell has had a tumultuous relationship with the former president.The top two candidates — Sens. John Thune and John Cornyn — each have had rocky relationships with Trump. However, they have worked to make amends.After Jan. 6, Thune denounced Trump and initially endorsed Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) for president. Cornyn has said the GOP needed to move on from Trump.Senate sources do not talk about Sen. Rick Scott's (R-Fla.) bid as seriously as Thune's or Cornyn's, though he has a good relationship with Trump. "Sen. Scott is focused on dramatically changing the way the Senate operates and creating a member-driven process," according to spokesperson McKinley Lewis.Sources often describe Thune as the likely favorite, though they say not to discount how much Cornyn's long history of hard-dollar fundraising for Senate campaigns means to people.Cornyn told us it's been a few weeks since he spoke with Trump about the leadership race. But he visited Mar-a-Lago a couple months ago "to talk about planning for the future," adding they've been "visiting with some of the transition folks."Mullin said Trump "likes" Thune despite their rocky past. The Oklahoma Republican has publicly backed Thune.Some sources suspect there could be a late entry: NRSC Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.) is the most-floated name.The bottom line: There's not a lot of incentive for senators benefiting from both Thune and Cornyn's aggressive fundraising efforts to commit too early."If one of them felt that they really had a majority, I think they would not be shy about saying that, but I don't think anybody does," Hawley said.

Republicans could pass both a health care overhaul that would replace Obamacare and extend Trump tax breaks in one bill if they win Congress and the White House.

Sen. Joe Manchin — who was likely to be the last Democrat to represent West Virginia for a long while before turning independent earlier this year — announced he would [...]The post 'Shame on Her' - Longtime Senator Refuses to Back Kamala, Slams Her Over Radical Plan to Pass Abortion Rights appeared first on The Western Journal.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pictured at a news conference on Tuesday, is preparing for his last post-election wrap-up as leader.

Sen. Cornyn is highlighting his fundraising ability as he and others battle to fill Minority Leader McConnell's shoes in the next Congress.

Republicans have blocked for a second time this year legislation to establish a nationwide right to in vitro fertilization, arguing that the vote is an election-year stunt after Democrats forced a vote on the issue. The Senate vote was Democrats’...

Senate Republicans blocked a bill to ensure federal protections for access to in vitro fertilization treatments, calling it a "show" vote by Democrats. Republican leaders and Former President Trump, the GOP nominee for president, say they back IVF but not the legislation proposed by Democrats.

Democrats brought the bill back to the Senate floor after Republicans previously blocked the measure from advancing in June.

Senate Democrats forced a vote on the Right To IVF Act, but it was blocked by Republicans who called it unnecessary and said they support in vitro fertilization.

Republican senators are fast losing patience with Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) inability to muster the votes to avoid a government shutdown at the end of September, and are warning they will take matters into their own hands if the House fails to act by Thursday. GOP senators fear that Congress may stumble into a shutdown [...]

Senate Republicans have quietly reversed course on trying to rebuke or embarrass the Biden White House, concerned it could help Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) stay in power.Why it matters: House and Senate GOP leaders had been pitting Democrats against Biden with Congressional Review Act votes, which allows Congress to overturn federal government rules and regulations.Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) told Axios they were "not actually getting anything done" with the votes, but it created a situation in which Democrats "can send a message that they're pretending to back home.""These are awfully hard votes to explain" to voters, Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) told Axios last year after votes on ESG investing, crime, COVID-19 and clean-water regulations.But more recently that approach has backfired, giving endangered Senate Democrats an opportunity to vote against Biden.CRA votes can give the White House a black eye. But they also gave vulnerable Democrats a chance to signal to voters they aren't just a rubber stamp for Biden.Driving the news: Lankford told Axios that one of his CRA resolutions — on White House policy on nursing homes — hasn't gotten a vote because, in part, it is an easy way for vulnerable Democrats to distance themselves from Biden.A senior Senate GOP aide acknowledged that a part of the shift was to stop giving vulnerable Democrats free votes to signal more moderate or right-leaning stances.Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), two of Schumer's most vulnerable members, have used such votes to keep Biden at arms' length on energy and the environment.What we're hearing: After a busy CRA schedule in 2023, a CRA vote hasn't been held in the Senate since May.As a substantive matter, the votes allow Congress to overturn federal rules promulgated by departments and agencies.As a political exercise, Republicans have used them as a way to rebuke the Biden administration from what they call "woke" policies.It takes 30 senators to sign on to a petition to force a floor vote on a CRA.The big picture: Fending off certain Biden administration policies has been a core feature of Tester's and Brown's high-stakes campaigns.Tester got a major victory in March when the Senate voted to overturn a rule from the Department of Agriculture that would end a ban on beef imports from Paraguay. Tester and Brown both voted for a CRA that would overturn a Biden administration rule on measuring and setting greenhouse gas emission standards. Schumer needs Tester and Brown to win in red states in November if he wants to be Senate majority leader in 2025.

A post shared on Facebook claims CNN’s official fact-checker purportedly said 2024 Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris lied 17 times during the first ten minutes of ABC News’ Sept. 10 presidential debate. Verdict: False The claim is false and originates from a satirical Facebook page. A CNN spokesperson denied the claim’s validity in an [...]

Donald Trump used his rally in Tuscon to continue mocking Kamala Harris - making fun of her voice and expressions - while claiming nobody knows her last name.

Donald Trump is ruling out another presidential debate against Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris pressed a forceful case against Donald Trump on Tuesday in their first and perhaps only debate before the presidential election, repeatedly goading him in an event that showcased their starkly different visions for the country on abortion, immigration...

Top Senate Republicans are breaking with former President Trump over his plan to impose across-the-board tariffs on goods coming into the U.S.Why it matters: The comments from senators, including two vying to replace Mitch McConnell as GOP leader, signal the potential for a fresh round of Republican infighting over trade and the economy if Trump wins on Nov. 5.The big picture: When asked if they supported the blanket 10% tariff on imports that Trump has floated, Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) both showed significant daylight with their party's standard-bearer. "There are ways that you can selectively use [tariffs] as a tool to achieve economic policy outcomes, but just uniform, across-the-board tariffs is not something I have been for in the past," said Thune, who is considered the frontrunner to replace McConnell. Cornyn, who is also running for GOP leader, described across-the-board tariffs as potentially "problematic."Between the lines: Some senators suggested the former president ultimately could be convinced to soften his actual plan, with many expressing concerns about the inflationary effects of universal 10% tariffs.Cornyn said he thinks Trump is "demonstrating he believes that tariffs should be used to rebalance unfair trading relationships" for countries like China, an approach he generally supports.Trump, who imposed sweeping tariffs on China, the European Union and other countries during his first term, is eyeing a new global trade war with proposed levies of 60% or more on Chinese goods.Senators' answers at times were reminiscent of conversations during Trump's first run for president — that he should be taken seriously, not literally.Zoom in: "I don't know if across-the-board, truly means across-the-board," Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) told Axios, saying she needs to explore the idea more and talk with Trump's advisers."I know what he's stumping on, but I don't believe as a matter of policy that's exactly how we'd implement it," Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), a former Senate Commerce committee chair, told Axios he's listening, but "not convinced that's the best approach."Wicker added the former president is "gonna listen to people within his circle of advisers, and that includes people on both sides of that issue," noting Larry Kudlow, in particular, who has warned about inflationary impacts of Trump policies in the past.Zoom out: Republicans have made it a cornerstone of their campaigns this year to slam President Biden for policies they argue spurred red-hot inflation.Now, Republican lawmakers are in the tricky position of heading home to meet constituents over the August recess with a candidate at the top of the ticket eyeing trade policies economists believe could trigger a new rise in consumer prices."I think ultimately tariffs result in higher prices for consumers," Cornyn said. The other side: "By cutting regulations and taxes and using the leverage of the United States to negotiate better trade deals around the world, President Trump built the strongest economy in American history," Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios in a statement.Leavitt went on to criticize Vice President Harris' "out of control spending" as part of the Biden administration, which she said "created the worst inflation crisis in generations."What they're saying: NRSC Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.) told Axios during an event at the Republican National Convention that he'd be "more inclined to do targeted type tariffs ... versus something that's just universal."Tillis also warned that "if all we did was across-the-board tariffs, it would have an inflationary impact" — though he said it was fine for Trump to send the message that tariffs can be used as a weapon, including against U.S. adversaries.What to watch: Trump's choice of Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate is another signal that he intends to move the Republican Party further away from its traditional free trade policies. Vance told CBS's Face the Nation in May that he supports "broad-based tariffs, especially on goods coming in from China," adding the U.S. needs "to protect American industries from all of the competition."

'Part of the blessing for me was not getting married before now'

Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina married fiancee Mindy Noce in a church ceremony in Charleston on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024.

Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2-ranking Senate GOP leader, said Wednesday that former President Trump should focus on policy issues and not race in his campaign against Vice President Harris. “The campaign is, needs to be, must be about the issues and there’s plenty to talk about. I just think that’s where [...]

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) is set for the biggest moment in his young political life on Wednesday night when he addresses the Republican National Convention as former President Trump’s newly designated running mate. Vance, who was officially tapped by Trump for the post on Monday, has been in elected office for barely a year and [...]

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer on Wednesday moved forward under pressure to confirm President Biden's nominees for top posts in the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, after insisting for months that he wouldn't schedule individual votes for military positions over Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville's blanket hold on promotions.

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer on Wednesday moved forward under pressure to confirm President Biden's nominees for top posts in the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, after insisting for months that he wouldn't schedule individual votes for military positions over Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville's blanket hold on promotions.

Senate Democrats are working with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and a handful of Republicans on a rarely used procedural tactic to defeat Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) blockade of more than 360 military promotions, a stalemate that has consumed the Senate for months. Democrats are looking at using a standing order resolution to move a block [...]

Welcome to At the Races! Each week we bring you news and analysis from the CQ Roll Call campaign team. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here. Sen. Tim Scott is the only member of either chamber currently running for president (though that may change Friday when Minnesota Democratic Rep. […] The post At the Races: Senate may be Scott-free for a while appeared first on Roll Call.

More than 300 guests are attending the state dinner that President Biden and first lady Jill Biden are hosting for Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, but outside of political luminaries, the guest list features few well-known names.