Vulnerable Senate Republicans are pressing their party’s leaders to act on rising prices before the midterms, as private worries grow that the GOP majority could be in danger.
Dozens of Republicans met Wednesday at the Senate GOP’s campaign headquarters for what was expected to be one of their last strategy sessions before November, and one person in the room told CNN that Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), one of the most endangered Republicans in the country, urged colleagues to stay in Washington and “do something real and tangible on affordability.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who also faces a tough race, strongly agreed and has made similar appeals in recent meetings, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
GOP leaders then agreed to bring the Senate back next week to take up a bill meant to protect consumers from electricity price increases driven by the boom in data centers after the House passed it overwhelmingly last week.
The bill is still expected to fail, and Senate Democrats have already blocked one attempt to fast-track it, arguing it falls short because it only requires state utility regulators to “consider” making data center operators pay for grid upgrades.
Frustration inside the Senate GOP has broken into public view, as Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) criticized his own leadership Thursday for making time for a college athletics bill while cost-of-living legislation waits.
“I have been chasing my friend, Senator [John] Thune, like he stole Thanksgiving, since we passed the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ to do more on cost of living because we haven’t done a damn thing, and it’s biting us in the a– right now,” Kennedy told reporters.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said he is open to suspending the federal gas tax, capping insulin prices and banning diesel exports.
“We need to vote on things that will actually help real people, and I’m concerned that we’re not doing that,” Hawley said. “I don’t know how you can explain that to voters in November. I really don’t.”
Senate Majority Leader Thune was skeptical, saying most of the proposals would not “do much to impact gas prices” while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted.
Privately, Republicans say about half a dozen Senate races could go either way. The House has already left town, and the Senate has only one week left before campaigning resumes.
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