{"id":2697846,"date":"2026-11-04T08:42:56","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T13:42:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignafter-midterm-drubbing-senate-gop-leadership-should-resign\/"},"modified":"2026-11-04T08:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T13:45:13","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignafter-midterm-drubbing-senate-gop-leadership-should-resign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignafter-midterm-drubbing-senate-gop-leadership-should-resign\/","title":{"rendered":"After Midterm Drubbing, Senate GOP Leadership Should Resign"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignafter-midterm-drubbing-senate-gop-leadership-should-resign%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2697846&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Tuesday night\u2019s midterms were an unmitigated disaster for Republicans. Democrats are projected to retake the House and likely win the Senate,a shift that would let them block any cabinet or judicial nominations from President Trump for the rest of his term.<\/p>\n<p>The losses weren\u2019t limited to close, competitive contests &#8211; Republicans suffered defeats or near-defeats in states normally considered reliably red, including South Carolina and Kansas, with Nebraska only narrowly held and Mississippi too close to call.Even states once viewed as battlegrounds, like Georgia and North Carolina, weren\u2019t considered competitive by Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>While the Iran war and its economic fallout are widely blamed for depressing GOP turnout, Senate Republican leadership bears significant duty as well. Since regaining the majority, Senate Republicans and their leaders spent more time thwarting the agenda their voters expected than advancing conservative priorities, which helped set the stage for the rout.<\/p>\n<p>Senate Republicans delayed and obstructed several of Trump\u2019s early cabinet choices &#8211; such as Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard &#8211; and some senators reportedly worked against those nominees behind the scenes. On legislation, aside from a tax cut package that failed to enthuse voters, outgoing Majority Leader John Thune and his allies accomplished very little.<\/p>\n<p>Leadership actively resisted measures like Utah Sen. Mike Lee\u2019s SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship and voter ID for federal elections, and used procedural tactics such as the talking filibuster as excuses to avoid forcing votes. At other times they left town rather than pressing the agenda.<\/p>\n<p>Major conservative priorities &#8211; repealing Obamacare, curbing runaway spending, reining in activist judges, among others &#8211; were largely ignored or sidelined. It shouldn\u2019t be surprising that many conservative voters stayed home: Republicans in the Senate largely failed to give their base a reason to turn out.<\/p>\n<p>democrats, for all their flaws, showed up for their voters and fought for their interests; most Senate Republicans did not present a compelling option beyond simply opposing Democrats. If Senate GOP leaders had any accountability, they would resign to make room for senators who align with and will act on voters\u2019 priorities &#8211; but that would require admitting failure and relinquishing power, which is unlikely.<\/p>\n<p>About the author: Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer at The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He shared the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism and has been published in outlets including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. he can be followed on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>There\u2019s no way to describe Tuesday night\u2019s midterm elections as anything other than a complete disaster for Republicans. Not only are Democrats projected to win back the House, but they\u2019re also poised to seize control of the Senate, a victory that allows them to deny President Trump any prospective cabinet or judicial appointments for the remainder of his term.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s not just that Republicans lost \u201ckey\u201d Senate races heading into Election Day. It\u2019s that they lost or were close to losing seats in supposedly \u201cred\u201d states. <\/p>\n<p>This includes places like South Carolina (lost), Kansas (lost), Nebraska (relatively close win), Mississippi (too close to call), and others. The environment was so bad for Republicans that states originally seen as battlegrounds, like Georgia and North Carolina, weren\u2019t even considered contested going into Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>While the Iran war and its harmful effects on the economy have become a large source of blame for the losses (and rightly so), there\u2019s another major culprit responsible for the disaster \u2014 Senate GOP leadership. <\/p>\n<p>Since retaking the majority two years ago, the Republican-run upper chamber and its leading senators have spent more time fighting the voters who elected them in 2024 than their Democrat counterparts. No matter the issue, these actors relentlessly worked to undermine conservative priorities, all of which helped set the stage for Tuesday\u2019s drubbing. <\/p>\n<p>Consider that it was Senate Republicans who dragged their feet on confirming Trump cabinet picks like <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pete-hegseth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pete Hegseth<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/tulsi-gabbard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tulsi Gabbard<\/a> in the early days of the administration. Some of these senators even sought to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/14\/i-will-be-supporting-pete-sen-joni-ernst-backs-hegseth-following-conservative-pressure-campaign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sabotage<\/a> these selections behind the scenes when they thought voters weren\u2019t looking.<\/p>\n<p>Things were just as awful on the legislation front. Aside from a tax cut bill that midterm voters clearly didn\u2019t put much stock in, soon-to-be former Senate Majority Leader John Thune and his band of misfits haven\u2019t done \u2014 to put it mildly \u2014 jack squat. <\/p>\n<p>In fact, Thune and Co. have openly resisted efforts to pass Utah Sen. Mike Lee\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/save-america-act\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SAVE America Act<\/a>, which would implement widely supported proof-of-citizenship and voter ID requirements in federal elections. When they weren\u2019t giving excuses on why they wouldn\u2019t invoke the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/17\/what-the-wall-street-journal-gets-wrong-about-the-talking-filibuster\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">talking filibuster<\/a> and force Democrats to debate the issue during their two-and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-gop-wont-work-5-days-a-week-to-confirm-trump-picks\/\" title=\"... GOP Won&#039;t Work 5 Days A Week To Confirm Trump Picks\">-a-half-day work week<\/a>, they were busy leaving town to go on <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/07\/congress-went-on-vacation-rather-than-pass-the-save-act-extend-planned-parenthood-defunding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">vacation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Senate GOP leadership also couldn\u2019t be bothered to find time to address other major issues conservative voters care about. Issues such as repealing Obamacare, fixing reckless spending, reigning in rogue judges, and more were all left on the chopping block (that is, assuming they were even on it to begin with). <\/p>\n<p>Is it any surprise then that all that Senate GOP fecklessness and betrayal came home to roost in Tuesday\u2019s shellacking?<\/p>\n<p>Yes, Democrats were enthusiastic to turn out and vote against Trump and Republicans. But it\u2019s equally true that Senate Republicans, as demonstrated above, didn\u2019t give their base a reason to show up. <\/p>\n<p>Say what one will about Democrats\u2019 destructive vision for the country (and it is destructive), they deliver for their voters and actually fight for their interests. The same cannot be said for most elected Republicans, who offered no meaningful, alternative message other than \u201cWe\u2019re not Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If the Republican \u201cleaders\u201d of the Senate had any shame at all after Tuesday\u2019s results, they\u2019d resign their posts for GOP senators who actually agree with their voters and will work to do right by them. But in order for them to do that, they\u2019d actually have to take responsibility for their failures and surrender the power they\u2019ve spent years accumulating. Which is something that has never happened, and sadly, likely never will. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GOP faces a wipeout as Dems win House and Senate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2697847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/IMG_4538-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[6203,50402,7408,3740,70028],"class_list":["post-2697846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-gop","tag-leadership-2","tag-midterms","tag-senate","tag-us-politics-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/IMG_4538-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2697846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2697846"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2697846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2697850,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2697846\/revisions\/2697850"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2697847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2697846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2697846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2697846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}