Fresh off what one senator called a “good old-fashioned shellacking,” Republicans are now turning to a more painful phase of their post-election soul-searching: the airing of grievances.
asserted
Republicans → call → grievances
Several senators are unhappy about a rush to reelect the GOP’s Senate leadership team after voters repudiated the party’s reign in Washington.
asserted
voters → reelect → Washington
A small but vocal minority is pushing to delay leadership elections beyond Tuesday, giving more time for a potential challenger to emerge against Majority Leader John Thune and his team.
asserted
challenger → push → Thune
Thune’s allies say the move is unnecessary, won’t change the result, and will only lead to more intraparty fighting after an election that could cost the Senate GOP as many as nine seats.
uncertain
that → say → seats
Either way, the party’s second-guessing of Thune and President Donald Trump — not to mention its uncertainty about its own agenda — will come to a head on Tuesday morning in the Old Senate Chamber.
asserted
guessing → mention → Chamber
“I saw five signatures on a letter,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., told Semafor of his colleagues advocating for a delay.
asserted
Cramer → see → delay
“I think we have to talk, but I don’t see why we’d need to change the leadership to do that.”
asserted
we → think → that
Beneath the procedural battle are huge debates within the Republican Party about where to turn next.
asserted
debates → turn → Party
A party that did little to defy Trump’s unpopular war with Iran and his tariffs now must figure out what strategic adjustments to make — or, perhaps, whether to make none at all.
asserted
that → do → none
Cramer blamed the stunning losses on “bad negotiations with Canada, tariffs, not supporting Ukraine enough to end the war” and allowing more foreign beef into the US.
asserted
Cramer → blame → US
He said “people who are overly surprised” by the election result “probably aren’t being honest with themselves.”
asserted
who → say → themselves
Retiring Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who dubbed it a “shellacking,” said the “war in Iran is extremely unpopular.
asserted
war → retire → Iran
I don’t know what the secretary is briefing the president [on], but it’s not working.”
asserted
it → know → president
“We need to have a tough, family conversation.
asserted
We → need → conversation
We just lost seven Senate seats.
asserted
We → lose → seats
And there may be more,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
uncertain
Hawley → say → ?
“I see a lot of blame shifting going on in all of these postmortems.
asserted
lot → see → postmortems
I think it’s probably time for people in Congress to take responsibility for what Congress did.”
asserted
Congress → think → what
Hawley cited Medicaid cuts, the GOP’s closeness to data centers, its turn away from anti-abortion priorities, and its move to “abandon” poor people and the working class.
asserted
Hawley → cite → people
He said he couldn’t pledge his vote to Thune or the rest of the leadership team right now.
asserted
he → say → team
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who is leading the effort to delay the leadership election, was even more harsh: “After that stunning defeat, we just can’t continue on business as usual.
asserted
we → lead → business
I mean … that kind of defeat demands change.”
asserted
kind → mean → change
“You can’t come off a defeat like that and just ram through elections and just elect that leadership team by acclamation,” Johnson said.
asserted
Johnson → come → acclamation
“It’s obnoxious, particularly at this moment.”
asserted
It → ’ → moment
Trump said on Monday that it’s up to the GOP senators to make a call on Thune, calling him a “very fine man” but lamenting that he wishes “they could get more produced.”
uncertain
they → say → him
Thune said he didn’t see how delaying the election “solves anything” but agreed the GOP needs to discuss its future.
asserted
GOP → say → future
‘Just move forward’
Johnson’s bid to delay the leadership elections means that before taking any votes on them, the GOP will have a special conference meeting beginning at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
asserted
GOP → move → Tuesday
They will then vote on whether to delay the elections of Thune and the rest of the leadership team, which includes Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming; Conference Chair Tom Cotton of Arkansas; Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., the policy chair; and Conference Vice Chair James Lankford of Oklahoma.
asserted
which → vote → Oklahoma
The GOP is also expected to select Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, a top ally of Trump, as its new campaign chair.
asserted
GOP → expect → chair
A similar delay bid failed in 2022 after the GOP lost one Senate seat.
asserted
GOP → fail → seat
Though the losses this month are several magnitudes greater, several Republican senators said they don’t expect the vote to prevail.
asserted
vote → say → ?
Some think the effort to delay is merely a smokescreen to undercut Thune.
asserted
effort → think → Thune
“This is a question that will come up tomorrow: If there’s a desire for a leadership change, then let’s make the leadership change.
asserted
’s → come → change
I don’t sense that, and so I think we ought to just move forward as planned.
asserted
we → sense → that
We’ll have a vote, the majority will rule,” Capito told Semafor.
asserted
Capito → have → Semafor
She said the election was a wakeup call for Republicans to take Americans’ concerns about rising prices more seriously: “Message received.”
asserted
Message → say → prices
That doesn’t mean it will necessarily translate into a binding bipartisan effort to end Trump’s tariffs or wind down the Iran war.
asserted
it → mean → war
And for either idea to clear the Senate, the GOP’s votes will be required — even with what could be a brawny 56-seat Democratic majority in the Senate and a House majority in the 250s, Trump can still wield the veto pen.
uncertain
Trump → clear → pen
“Ultimately, I think the lesson is: We needed senators to act in a more independent fashion.
asserted
senators → think → fashion
But even Susan Collins — who was very independent — didn’t survive it because the whole election became about Donald Trump and whether he was concerned about gas prices,” said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
Voters, Paul concluded, “were just mad.”
Paul said he was probably OK with a leadership vote on Tuesday after a “frank discussion.”
asserted
he → survive → discussion
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
