GOP senators endure painful week with little to show for it
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Exhausted GOP senators are preparing to fly home mostly empty-handed after staying in D.C. longer than expected.
Why it matters: The midterm outlook is getting bleaker by the day, and Republicans have a monster to-do list for the lame-duck session that could be a last chance to capitalize on their trifecta.
Between the lines: Republicans decided against breaking for an early recess last week.
- The biggest thing to show for it: A historic — and bipartisan — college sports package that doesn't do much for those defending their seats in November. It faces long odds in the House.
😖 Otherwise it was a week of pain:
- Failed votes: A vote addressing Americans' concerns about data centers driving up energy costs failed today, as did another to curb congressional stock trades and enforce voter IDs.
- A line of attack that backfired: A major hearing with Jack Smith was overshadowed by a failed attempt by Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) to link the special counsel and Atlanta prosecutor Fani Willis.
- The Trump issue: Republicans have been tiptoeing around whether Trump's unpopularity will hurt the party in November, only for Texas nominee Ken Paxton to be caught blaming Trump's midterm convention for hurting his polling.
- NRSC Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said Paxton's analysis was "just wrong" and called the convention "a boost in the right direction."
🤕 Zoom out: Some of the GOP senators are returning to fresh campaign headaches.
- Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) lost a week of in-state campaigning and didn't even get a vote on one of her key priorities: a bipartisan bill to lower insulin costs.
- Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) is the target of a new ad campaign hitting him over his pardon of a man who pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual assault.
- Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) has been batting down accusations that he went after mothers of new babies over unpaid medical bills. His lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to his opponent — Rev. Adam Hamilton — on Monday.
The GOP has a cash advantage, but the campaign apparatus now has to spend heavily in states Trump handily won in 2024 — Ohio, Iowa, Alaska, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska and Florida.
‼️ The other side: Former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) was also hit with a damaging report from the New York Times about her personal behavior and office culture (some of which she denied). She is challenging GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan.
What to watch: The Senate will return in November staring down a list of must-pass items.
- Fund the government
- Pass the National Defense Authorization Act
- Reinstate FISA Section 702, the warrantless wiretap authority
- Pass the farm bill
💰 The bottom line: That's just what they must get done. There's also a growing list of maybe-to-dos, like:
- Take a whack at a bipartisan permitting reform bill that finally came together hours before the Senate took off for home.
- Pass some form of AI guardrails.
- Raise the debt ceiling, potentially through reconciliation.
