Trump–Republican Senate Leadership Conflict Escalates: "No Calls With Majority Leader for Two Weeks"

Trump and Thune Have Not Spoken for Two Weeks
Clash Over Filibuster Abolition and Primary Interventions

Conflicts between U.S. President Donald Trump and the Republican Senate leadership are intensifying. With the midterm elections coming up in November, it appears that fractures within the ruling party are beginning to surface in earnest.

U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House

According to CNN on August 2 (local time), Senate Majority Whip John Thune reportedly has not spoken with President Trump at all over the past two weeks.

It has been reported that Thune has learned about President Trump’s complaints about him or demands on the Senate only through the President’s social media posts or media coverage, highlighting a deterioration in their relationship. In effect, direct communication between the President and the ruling party’s Senate leader on major state affairs has virtually ceased.

This contrasts sharply with President Trump's frequent phone calls with House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is known as one of his staunch loyalists. While President Trump’s bold and unpredictable approach has always differed from the rational and moderate style of Thune, the latter supported Trump’s administration in its early days by leading the passage of large-scale tax cut and spending bills, and by accommodating tariffs and immigration policies.

However, since the start of this year, the relationship between the two sides has begun to significantly deteriorate. Analysts point to the Senate’s mounting dissatisfaction with President Trump’s unilateral approach to governance—including strict immigration crackdowns and the war with Iran—as one factor. Separately, the President’s direct intervention in Republican Senate primary elections is cited as a decisive catalyst.

President Trump publicly endorsed primary candidates running against Senator John Cornyn of Texas and Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, effectively pushing the two senators out of politics. Republican senators Tom Tillis of North Carolina, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, and Rand Paul of Kentucky, among others, have also taken open stances in opposition to President Trump.

All of these senators are known to support Thune within the party. According to CNN, out of 53 Republican Senators, only about 12 are considered to have strong pro-Trump "MAGA" (Make America Great Again) leanings.

If this internal division deepens while Republicans hold only a slight majority over Democrats, it will inevitably hinder negotiations to prevent a federal government shutdown ahead of the September-end close of the fiscal year, and complicate the passage of sanctions legislation against Russia.

President Trump has pressured Thune to abolish the Senate filibuster rule in order to bypass Democratic opposition and push through the so-called "SAVE Act," which would strengthen voter ID laws, as well as budget bills related to the Iran war.

However, Thune has held fast to his position that the Senate’s traditions and rules must be preserved to prepare for the possibility that the Republicans could become the minority party in the future.

In response, President Trump refused to sign a major housing supply promotion bill and opposed the extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is often referred to as the foreign wiretapping law, thereby increasing pressure on the Senate leadership.

The Republican Senate leadership has also retaliated. The confirmation of President Trump’s nominee for Attorney General was thwarted by opposition from Republican senators, and the plan to establish a legal victims’ compensation fund, which became a pretext for the rejection, was abandoned.

CNN described the current situation within the Republican Party as "members pointing their guns at each other for months," and reported that "many party officials say this internal strife is adding to an already difficult midterm environment for the GOP and are expressing embarrassment at the turn of events."

CNN also noted that there is now no suitable mediator between the two sides since longtime Trump ally and close Thune confidant, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, died suddenly last month.

On July 30, when journalists asked President Trump whether he still considered John Thune fit to lead the Senate Republicans, he replied, "Well, we’ll see," avoiding a direct answer.

That same day, Thune responded to President Trump’s remarks by saying, "He’s not a voter in our election," a statement seen as emphasizing that his own political fate is not in President Trump’s hands.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.