The GOP Leadership and a Very Public Autopsy

Cultures differ greatly when it comes to how to deal with a death. The “official” mourning period, how long to wear black, when one can reasonably start dating again, these are all considerations for an individual in grief – and are often a very private affair. Not so for the GOP as it mourns its loss of congressional control. The wake is in place before the body of the Republican caucus is even cold, and the relatives are ready to start arguing over the silverware. Today, November 10, members gather to figure out who becomes the head of the family.

Some GOP Senators Not Ready to Let Go

It was widely expected that South Dakota Senator John Thune would continue in his role as leader of the Republican Senate caucus despite the bruising losses in last week’s midterms. But a small cohort of rebels – headed by Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson – is looking to force a debate on today’s planned meeting to re-anoint Thune. As per conference rules, Johnson has secured the five signatures needed to request a meeting, and he and his allies want to push the vote back and take stock, with the aim of hearing from other leadership candidates. Republican Sens. Mike Lee, Ted Budd, Rick Scott, and John Kennedy were the other four to sign on.

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The letter states that the midterm “result was a stunning defeat, and there are multiple reasons for it… We need to have serious discussions within our conference as to what we can do to improve the outcome in 2028.”

“Holding leadership elections without engaging in a robust discussion and evaluation of how those running for leadership intend to lead would be political malpractice,” it adds. “It is certainly not the way leadership elections should be conducted in the world's most deliberative body.” Johnson insists that the move is not hostile to Thune, but the conservatives cheering him on appear to have good reason for their reluctance to back the current Senate Majority Leader.

Not All Blame Is Equal

In the aftermath of last Tuesday’s drubbing, President Donald Trump and VP JD Vance have both made frank acknowledgements of where they presume they went wrong. Trump, speaking on 60 Minutes, said of his mass deportation operation, "I think it was too tough." Vance set the blame on the unpopular war with Iran and the exacerbation of prices because of it. Notably, neither man sought to shift the fault to his colleagues in the upper chamber.

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But while it is right and proper that the two biggest leaders shoulder the bulk of the recrimination, they are not governing alone.

A stream of articles and a torrent of social media posts (not to mention the downpour of podcasts) have spent months calling out Thune and his delegation for not passing the SAVE America Act on toughening election laws. For his part, Thune prevaricated almost weekly on the topic, arguing he didn’t have the votes to pass it. And yet that is rather beside the point.

The bill did reach the floor, only to fail each time against the 60-vote threshold. But had Thune forced a talking filibuster, or a vote on changing the filibuster rule itself, the public could have seen who was for and against the legislation, and that may itself have added a certain amount of pressure. If the voting public had thought that things could actually get done in the Senate, the numbers could well be different. It’s highly unlikely that the GOP would have held onto power, but the tallies may not have been quite so bruising.

After all, what’s the point of sending GOP folks to the Big Show if they’re not going to vote for the bills you want anyway?

A Wake-Up or a Wake?

It’s entirely possible that even with a delayed vote, John Thune runs unopposed. No one wants to be the whipping boy for a newly emboldened opposition soon to be the majority. But a conversation should be had. Why did the Senate results defy even the most pessimistic of expectations? Why did red turn to blue in such spectacular fashion? Most importantly, was there anything Senate leadership could have done to make a difference?

Unless these questions are answered fully and without equivocation, the grief the party is now feeling will inevitably linger. After all, acceptance is the final step in healing, but you can’t get there without understanding your loss in the first place.