Seething House Republicans turn knives on John Thune with crude message
House conservatives are training their fire on a new target: their own Senate majority leader.
Fed up with John Thune's (R-SD) refusal to nuke the filibuster and force through President Donald Trump's sweeping voter ID bill, House Republicans are reaching for a familiar weapon — the same scorched-earth playbook they used to torch former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
"It’s time for Thune to grow a set of balls," Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) told Notus on Thursday.
"Nuke the filibuster, pass all this stuff and pass Trump's executive orders," he added.
The frustration centers on the SAVE America Act, which passed the House 218-213 last month with just one Democrat voting yes. The bill would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID to cast a ballot, including by mail, in an attempt to curb baseless accusations of rampant voter fraud. Critics say it would amount to voter suppression.
The bill has stalled in the Senate, where the 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster remains intact. Thune has faced a barrage of pressure to change the rules and install a "talking filibuster," but has thus far resisted.
That hasn't sat well with their House counterparts.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) told the outlet, “I just don’t think he’s following through on what he needs to do."
Freedom Caucus members Keith Self (R-TX) and Michael Cloud (R-TX) piled on, with Self warning, "The American people will make this happen." Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) added that "disappointment isn’t a solution."
Some Republicans have pushed back hard.
"When Republicans fight Republicans, Democrats win," one senior GOP Senate aide told the outlet.
Thune's allies noted he confirmed Trump's Cabinet at the fastest pace in 20 years and shepherded the Working Families Tax Cuts bill to Trump's desk.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) tried to play peacemaker.
“I have to work with Leader Thune on that. I don’t tell him how to run the Senate, and he doesn’t tell me how to run the House,” Johnson said last week. “But we coordinate as best as we can.”