Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) just finished a bruising week that left his relationship with President Donald Trump at a recent low point.
Whether it gets worse will depend on how well Thune navigates the seemingly growing number of Republicans willing to buck Trump — and whether the president takes it personally if he can’t.
Senate Republicans, on break for the Memorial Day recess, have the next week to cool off after a striking display of defiance that began with a rebuke over the war with Iran and finished with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche getting chewed out over a new $1.8 billion “lawfare” fund.
Four Republicans helped Democrats advance legislation to rein in Trump’s war powers, a high mark that means the measure could actually pass more than two months into the conflict with Iran.
A far larger number of Republicans appeared poised to deal Trump a setback related to the “lawfare” fund, part of a settlement between Trump and his Justice Department that Republicans fear will be used to compensate those convicted or accused of assaulting police at the 2021 Capitol riot.
Republicans are discussing everything from restricting who can access the funds to nullifying it altogether as part of an immigration enforcement bill the Senate will pick back up in June, and Thune is among the senators with concerns.
A vote on that legislation was scrapped on Thursday due to the uproar.
The disputes come at a fraught moment in Thune’s relationship with Trump. Just weeks ago, the president was blaming Thune for not doing more to whip the votes needed to advance the SAVE America Act, a voter ID bill that stalled over GOP opposition to weakening the filibuster.
And Trump has made clear he is not going to drop the issue. The legislation is part of why Trump endorsed state Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race last week, despite months of Thune encouraging him to back Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).
Paxton offered his full-throated support for eliminating the filibuster, a move that tapped into Trump’s frustrations and forced Cornyn to follow suit days later.
Thune, for his part, has shown flashes of frustration over the president’s targeting of Cornyn and a second incumbent, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). Similar frustration is bubbling among Senate Republicans over Trump’s preoccupation with priorities that have threatened the fate of some $70 billion in funding for his immigration enforcement agenda.
That includes the “lawfare” fund, but also a White House request to add $1 billion for the Secret Service. As of now, Thune is expected to leave the money out over rank-and-file resistance to the portion earmarked for Trump’s ballroom project.
The repeated points of friction don’t mean that Trump has soured on Thune, or that Thune is ready to go the way of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the former majority leader whose relationship with Trump never recovered after the Capitol riot.
As recently as a week ago, Trump was calling Thune a “terrific person” to attendees at the congressional picnic. Senate Republicans are similarly cautioning against the idea of a larger break.
“This isn’t a precursor to a divorce,” said a senior GOP Senate aide who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “People who think that are, No. 1, overreacting, but also not appreciating the nature of their relationship.”
Still, Trump and Thune are struggling to see eye to eye on a growing number of fronts, and Thune is managing a conference that is becoming less responsive to the president’s demands.
That includes Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a retiring GOP senator whom Trump called a “nitpicker” Friday over his periodic criticism and willingness to hold up administration priorities.
Trump’s decision to target Cornyn and Cassidy, meanwhile, could further complicate Thune’s whip count.
GOP CAPS TURBULENT WEEK POINTING FINGER AT WHITE HOUSE FOR IMMIGRATION BILL BLUNDER
Cassidy, fresh off a loss in his Senate primary against a Trump-backed challenger, was the fourth Republican to back the Iran war powers resolution last week, a largely symbolic defection given the measure, should it pass, will not survive a presidential veto.
Cornyn downplayed the possibility that he will become a thorn in Trump’s side if he loses on Tuesday, but also told NewsNation that he would pick his fights “on a case by case basis.”
