Thune under scrutiny: Tensions rise between Trump and Senate majority leader in critical moment of legislative session

At a critical—and difficult—moment for the Republican agenda, John Thune finds himself in the eye of the storm. The Senate majority leader is being, at the very least, "too cautious"—in the words of Senator John Kennedy—and Donald Trump's "patience is running out" in the face of a lack of results, as White House Press Secretary  Karoline Leavitt recently warned.

Frustrated by conservative lawmakers' inability to pass the SAVE Act, Trump went so far as to say at a rally last week that the Senate is "a place that you send things when you want them to die" and urged his supporters to pressure Thune: "Everybody call John Thune. He's the leader of the Republican party, and tell him to get this stuff approved."

Thune responds, says White House is targeting the wrong person

The veteran senator from South Dakota—who has repeatedly stated that the congressional arithmetic does not allow for the bill to pass—was quick to respond, passing the buck to the White House by asserting that they are focusing on the wrong person: 

"Instead of, you know, pointing the finger at Republicans, they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats. And if there are Republicans that they think are gettable, get on the phone. Let's get them to yes."

Grumbling about Thune among Senate Republicans is beginning to grow louder

The situation has led more and more Republican senators to voice their disagreements with Thune's methods and timing in ways that go beyond mere murmurs. For example, John Kennedy, despite claiming to "love" the Senate majority leader, was critical of how pressing issues—such as the SAVE Act itself and, above all, the negotiations to avoid another government shutdown in September—were being handled:

"Look, I mean no disrespect. I love John Thune. He’s my leader. He’s got a big brain. He’s better looking than me. But I think he’s just being too cautious. He wants to spend the rest of our time talking with Senator Schumer about shutting down the government."

In his opinion, this is nothing more than a waste of time, since "the Graham Platner wing" of the Democratic Party "is not going to let Schumer agree with us. They already want to give Schumer a bathrobe, a popsicle and an early bedtime, and have him retire. I don’t think Chuck can agree with us. I think he’s going to shut down the government."