{"id":2703868,"date":"2026-11-11T07:51:02","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T12:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignsenate-republicans-double-down-on-john-thunes-failed-leadership\/"},"modified":"2026-11-11T07:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T12:55:08","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignsenate-republicans-double-down-on-john-thunes-failed-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignsenate-republicans-double-down-on-john-thunes-failed-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans Double Down On John Thune&#8217;s Failed Leadership"},"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_campaignsenate-republicans-double-down-on-john-thunes-failed-leadership%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=2703868&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>After a bruising midterm that cost Republicans the Senate majority, Sen. John Thune was quickly reelected GOP leader despite conservatives urging a delayed vote. Critics blame leadership for failing to deliver the America Frist agenda-codifying trump\u2019s orders, border and election reforms, and judicial picks-which contributed to losses. Thune defended the filibuster and vowed to continue, while Sen. Ron Johnson warned Democrats will abolish the filibuster, pack courts, and nationalize elections. Internal fights over nominees persist as Republicans debate working through the lame-duck to confirm Trump\u2019s agenda.  <\/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>Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. <\/p>\n<p>Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., on Tuesday pushed back an effort to slow a leadership vote and emerged as commander of the Senate\u2019s soon-to-be significantly diminished Republican conference. <\/p>\n<p>Despite losing at least seven GOP seats and the majority in a gruesome midterm, 31 Republican senators thought it a good idea to go ahead with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/live-updates\/2026\/11\/10\/congress\/john-thune-reelected-senate-leader-01159523\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">conference leadership election<\/a>. Facing no challenger, Thune will now become the leader of a minority party that lost control because it failed to deliver on the America First agenda that so many of its globalist, RINO members abhor. <\/p>\n<p>Failure rewarded. Lessons not learned. <\/p>\n<p>Many of the same Republicans are laying the blame for the blue wave that swept them out of power entirely at President Donald Trump\u2019s feet. They\u2019re \u201cfurious,\u201d The Hill <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/6206790-senate-gop-blames-trump-losses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reports.<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Thune\u2019s compatriots were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewellnews.com\/us-senate\/thune-reelected-senate-gop-leader-after-push-for-lame-duck-commitments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">returned to their posts<\/a> as well, including Sen. John Barrasso, R.- Wyo., as whip, Tom Cotton R-Ark., as conference chairman, Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va., policy committee chair, and James Lankford, R-Okla., to serve as conference vice chairman.<\/p>\n<p>The frustration from the conservatives who tried to slow the runaway Thune train was palpable, too.  <\/p>\n<p>Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/11\/09\/electing-john-thune-senate-minority-leader-would-be-rewarding-failure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">led a group of Republican senators<\/a> asking the conference to delay the leadership vote, said he didn\u2019t participate in Tuesday\u2019s election \u201cbecause a defeat of this magnitude demands serious reflection and change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHolding a rushed election ignores the message our voters sent. We must acknowledge where and why we failed and develop strategies to succeed,\u201d Johnson wrote on his X account.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope our conference can unite, learn from this moment, and do a better job listening to the American people and addressing their concerns,\u201d Wisconsin\u2019s senior senator added. <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>I did not participate in today\u2019s Senate leadership election because a defeat of this magnitude demands serious reflection and change. <\/p>\n<p>Holding a rushed election ignores the message our voters sent. We must acknowledge where and why we failed and develop strategies to succeed.\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u2014 Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenRonJohnson\/status\/2120269152279728478?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 10, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>\u2018Make it Hard to Do Things\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The problem is that Thune and his cadre of RINOs didn\u2019t listen to the conservative voters who gave them the majority in 2024. They failed to do anything other than offer a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/17\/senate-begins-show-debate-on-save-america-act\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">show debate<\/a> on election integrity reform, legislation supported by the vast majority of Americans. They failed to codify myriad <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/executive-orders\/page\/4\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">executive orders<\/a> on everything from border security and immigration law to government fraud fighting. They couldn\u2019t even get their act together <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/newsletters\/healthcare\/5982200-gop-bill-leaves-out-anti-planned-parenthood-language\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">extend a ban<\/a> on taxpayer funds going to Planned Parenthood and its abortion industrial complex. <\/p>\n<p>Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.primetimer.com\/news\/we-dropped-the-ball-texas-rep-chip-roy-says-republicans-got-60-days-to-try-to-finish-the-job-and-show-the-american-people-that-were-serious\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> Laura Ingraham over the weekend that the Senate failed to deliver for the American people. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn July, I had to fight to get a bill through that matched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/118th-congress\/house-bill\/2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">H.R. 2,<\/a> our border security bill from last Congress. We reintroduced it this time, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/119th-congress\/house-bill\/9773\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">H.R. 9773,<\/a> it\u2019s my bill. It would do the things you just talked about, in terms of border security, in terms of asylum, parole, all the abuses under the Biden administration which you know the Democrats are going to want to bring back. We should codify [Trump\u2019s orders]. Make it permanent. Codify what the president has been doing,\u201d Roy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChipRoyforTexas\/videos\/congress-has-60-days-left-to-finish-the-job-and-prove-to-the-american-people-tha\/2250314709031888\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> the Fox News host. <\/p>\n<p>After being crowned minority leader Tuesday, Thune turned to his tired, old tropes. He only has 53 senators. He\u2019s helpless against the filibuster and the 60 votes needed to smash through it. His hands are tied. What can one man do? <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe problem is, for people out there in America, this is the way the founders designed the Senate, to make it work exactly this way, to make it hard to do things,\u201d Thune audaciously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lzyRLaAqBNU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> Fox News\u2019 Bret Baier on Tuesday edition of <em>Special Report.<\/em> The filibuster as we know it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/articles\/the-history-of-the-filibuster\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">was not designed by the founders;<\/a> it is the product of a lazy, modern-day Upper House that wanted to punch out by noon on Thursday\u2019s and head back to work on mid-Monday afternoons.  <\/p>\n<p>Thune went on to note that the filibuster protects minority rights. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt gives the minority a voice in our government, which now we are going to appreciate because we are going to be that minority,\u201d the soon-to-be Senate minority leader insisted. <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">GOP Leader Thune defends Republicans not passing the SAVE Act: &#8220;This is the way the Founders designed the Senate. The filibuster gives a minority in the country a voice, which now we are going to appreciate. We are going to be that minority.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hjMvAfGkHb\">pic.twitter.com\/hjMvAfGkHb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 TheBlaze (@theblaze) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/theblaze\/status\/2120301789270745479?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 10, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>It\u2019s that kind of naivety that very well could indefinitely turn the keys of power over to Democrats via limitless one-party rule. <\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Mitch\u2019s Technique\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Johnson said Republicans already face an uphill battle in retaking control of the House and Senate in the next couple of election cycles. Now, he and others who <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/10\/gop-senators-nuke-the-filibuster-pass-the-save-america-act\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">warned the GOP establishment<\/a> that Democrats will nuke the filibuster if they take back the Senate believe it\u2019s now just a matter of time. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re telling us what they are going to do. They will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/schumer-jeffries-sidestep-questions-nuking-filibuster-launching-elon-musk-probe-blue-wave\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">eliminate the filibuster<\/a>, they will <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/house\/6067506-house-supreme-court-packing-amendment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pack the Supreme Court<\/a>, they will turn <a href=\"https:\/\/puertoricoreport.com\/d-c-s-new-delegate-plans-a-push-for-statehood\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">D.C. and Puerto Rico into states<\/a>. There\u2019s four more Democratic senators. They\u2019ll nationalize elections \u2026 There will be no control,\u201d Johnson told me Monday on <a href=\"https:\/\/newstalk1130.iheart.com\/featured\/vicki-mckenna\/content\/2026-11-10-426-the-vicki-mckenna-show-vicki-mckenna-show-the-uprising-more-republicans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Vicki McKenna Show<\/em><\/a>  on WIBA in Madison. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt will be like Venezuela, right? One man. One vote. One time,\u201d the Wisconsin senator added. \u201cTheir goal has always been a one-party nation, and they are almost reaching fruition of it. They will gain that if they win the presidency.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Thune learned a great deal from his mentor, Sen. Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history who appears to be catatonically serving out his final term in office. Johnson noted that the deliberative Senate\u2019s Republican conference once waited on average 40 days after the election to vote for its leadership team. That window plummeted to an average of nine days after elections during McConnell\u2019s tenure as head of the Senate GOP. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was Mitch\u2019s technique. Schedule the election the Tuesday you get back from the [general] election, win or lose, and just reelect the leadership by acclamation,\u201d Johnson said. <\/p>\n<h2>\u2018I\u2019ve Utterly Lost Hope in You Guys\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>For disaffected Republicans, Thune\u2019s installment as minority leader is more of the same. Some are blaming Johnson and his colleagues who moved to delay the vote. They assert the stall campaign wasn\u2019t enough. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you put up a candidate \u2026 or run yourself? Now not only is the author of our defeat rewarded with continued leadership, but none of the \u2018good guys\u2019 bothered to put up a fight,\u201d Colin O\u2019Brien <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RadioCarpenter\/status\/2120271586611863746\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">responded<\/a> to Johnson\u2019s X post.\u00a0\u201cCatastrophic outcome today. For the first time in 44 years as a Republican, I\u2019ve utterly lost hope in you guys. Utterly gutless.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>Thune and crew still have a chance to change minds and accomplish something, but the clock is ticking. Knowing the leftists in the Senate will move to nuke the filibuster, Roy said Republicans could \u201ctweak some things\u201d to move legislation through before the end of the session.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut right now I don\u2019t even know if we have 51 Republicans [in the Senate] to agree, but I\u2019d like to try,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChipRoyforTexas\/videos\/congress-has-60-days-left-to-finish-the-job-and-prove-to-the-american-people-tha\/2250314709031888\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> Ingraham. <\/p>\n<h2>\u2018They are Standing in the Way\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Looks like the swamp machines are already up to their old tricks, however. Arkansas Republican Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton were reportedly trying to block the appointment of Arkansas District Court Judge Lee Rudofsky to the 8th Circuit Court of appeals. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom what I\u2019ve heard, Senator Boozman is lobbying some of the Republicans to vote against him to stop him in his tracks \u2026 The Arkansas senators are objecting to the president\u2019s pick. They are standing in the way of the president getting the nominee he wants on the federal bench,\u201d Robert Luther, former associate counsel to Trump during his first term, <a href=\"https:\/\/katv.com\/news\/local\/trump-aligned-attorneys-say-arkansas-senators-trying-to-block-judicial-appointment-lee-rudofsky-8th-circuit-court-of-appeals-john-boozman-tom-cotton-robert-luther-mike-davis-bobby-shepherd-robert-steinbuch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> KATV. <\/p>\n<p>Luther and others say the senators prefer Arkansas Supreme Court Justice and former state Republican Party chairman Cody Hiland for the post, despite the fact that no one has called Rudofsky\u2019s qualifications into question \u2014 other than he has the backing of Trump. They got their wish on Tuesday, when the president <a href=\"https:\/\/arkansasadvocate.com\/2026\/11\/10\/trump-withdraws-rudofsky-nomination-for-federal-judge-post-in-arkansas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">withdrew Rudofsky\u2019s name and nominated Hiland<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Thune, meanwhile, has denied accusations that he\u2019s maneuvering to keep newly-elected Tennessee Gov. Marsha Blackburn from naming Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., to fill out her term in the Senate. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI haven\u2019t had any conversations with her about that,\u201d Thune told reporters on Tuesday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4797943\/thune-denies-meddling-blackburn-senate-appointment-decision\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to<\/a> the Washington Examiner. \u201cI mean, Marsha Blackburn is going to make that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Burchett has long been a thorn in the side of establishment Republicans on Capitol Hill. He\u2019d certainly make Senate RINOs uneasy. <\/p>\n<p>Roy said Republicans should get to work and keep working to codify Trump\u2019s agenda and approve his nominees before time runs out. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey should never break. They should come in on Monday and stay through Jan. 3,\u201d Roy said of Senate Republicans. <\/p>\n<p>Thune <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RyanAFournier\/videos\/-boom-leader-john-thune-just-announced-the-senate-will-work-late-and-cancel-brea\/1802301034387142\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">says<\/a> his majority Republicans will remain in session through the lame-duck to confirm Trump\u2019s judicial and executive nominations, as well as other \u201cconsequential legislation.\u201d That apparently means extending the calendar to include late nights, weekends, even holidays.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, we\u2019re going to make the most of the time that we\u2019ve got,\u201d the majority leader said. \u201cAnd that means extending the calendar here, the number of days we\u2019re here, the number of hours we\u2019re here, the number of votes we may end up taking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut we are going to finish this legislative session strong, and then we are in the process of preparing for the 120th,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n<p>Johnson said Republicans have got to get their act together to \u201creenergize our supporters who are PO\u2019d at us\u201d and disillusioned. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou hear way too many say, \u2018Ah, they\u2019re all the same.\u2019 We\u2019re not. We\u2019re not even close. We\u2019re far from perfect as Republicans, but Democrats are orders of magnitude worse. Their ideologies, their policies are destructive,\u201d the Wisconsin senator said. <\/p>\n<p>Listen to the complete interview with Sen. Ron Johnson <a href=\"https:\/\/newstalk1130.iheart.com\/featured\/vicki-mckenna\/content\/2026-11-10-426-the-vicki-mckenna-show-vicki-mckenna-show-the-uprising-more-republicans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here.<\/a> <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thune leads GOP minority; same old power dynamics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2703869,"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\/Screenshot-2026-11-11-at-12.32.35-AM-1024x571.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[6203,44946,50402],"class_list":["post-2703868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-gop","tag-john-thune","tag-leadership-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Screenshot-2026-11-11-at-12.32.35-AM-1024x571.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2703868","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\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2703868"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2703868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2703872,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2703868\/revisions\/2703872"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2703869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2703868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2703868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2703868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}