A top Republican leader in Washington is “taking heat from all sides of his conference,” according to a new report from Punchbowl News, as the strategy he used to notch “big wins earlier this year” is now “failing to produce results on multiple fronts.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who took over the role from longtime leader Mitch McConnell, was the subject of Punchbowl’s Friday morning report, detailing the simmering unrest in the GOP over his leadership and tactics. Up to this point in 2025, Thune had led Senate Republicans to several notable accomplishments and managed to avoid any major conflicts with President Donald Trump.
“Less than a year into his tenure as Senate Republican leader, Thune has been able to successfully steer Republicans through some of the most challenging moments of his career,” Punchbowl explained. “From the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to Cabinet nominations to a record-breaking government shutdown and a high-profile rules change, Thune has allowed the GOP conference to reach a consensus on its own rather than dictating an outcome from above. And Thune has done all of this without getting on the wrong side of president, a huge feat on its own.”
Now, however, a “year-end frenzy” in Congress has seen Thune’s strategy come up short on results with key pieces of legislation hanging in the balance, “angering several GOP factions simultaneously and reviving longstanding tensions within the conference.”
This includes a stalled out funding bill for the 2026 fiscal year, but also the much publicized fight over Affordable Care Act subsidies. Without the renewal of prior subsidies, which the Big Beautiful Bill axed, premiums for millions on Obamacare plans will skyrocket, leaving the GOP bitterly divided about how to handle the issue and with vanishingly little time to come up with a solution.
“Senate Republicans are flailing around on health care, unable to decide whether to offer their own plan to counter next week’s vote on Democrats’ Obamacare subsidy bill,” the report explained.
“We’ve known about this cliff for a long time,” one Republican official told the outlet. “Democrats spent the entire shutdown wringing our necks over it. And our leadership wasn’t ready with a response?”
Thune has also ruffled the feathers of many after backing the addition of a provision in a recent funding bill that would have allowed several Republican Senator to sue the government for damaged if their phones were seized for a prior investigation. The provision was struck down in the House, highlighting new tensions between the Senate leader and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
“As of Thursday, Thune hadn’t decided whether Republicans will even offer an alternative to the Democratic proposal,” the report added. “Some GOP senators think it’s political malpractice not to present a plan that would avert massive premium hikes in the new year.
“Rank-and-file senators want Thune to be more proactive and make the tough decisions, especially with the White House disengaged.”
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