Facing rising gas prices, an Iran war with no end in sight and increasingly dire midterm polling, Senate Republicans are facing a crucial choice this week: fight or flight.
Some GOP lawmakers are caught between their desire to use the rest of the scant pre-election legislative calendar to improve their standing with voters and the likelihood there probably isn’t much they can do anyway.
House Republicans have already fled Washington until after the Nov. 3 election, and the Senate is set to spend the week debating a bipartisan bill overhauling the multibillion-dollar college sports industry with no firm idea of what comes after.
The split screen between the real economic pain hitting Americans and the relatively light stakes of the Senate floor agenda had several anxious GOP lawmakers raising concerns over cost-of-living issues amid signs that their majority is in real peril.
The college sports bill “needs to be done,” said Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), “but I wouldn't say it's top priority in the minds of people in North Carolina or in the world.”
“If you list all the problems that they are facing right now, it's not college sports,” he continued. “Yeah, it's a problem, but it's not the top problem. I mean, it's affordability, it's fuel prices, it's grocery prices. It's getting this war behind us.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is for now keeping his options open about what to do once the college sports legislation is disposed of, and that topic is expected to be discussed during a closed-door GOP lunch Wednesday.
But one very real option is simply joining the House in calling it quits till after the election — which is what several GOP senators and aides who were granted anonymity to speak candidly said they expect to happen this week.
Should they leave, Republican senators would be essentially standing pat with their legislative record, even with voters clamoring for more help while blaming Trump in a spate of recent polling.
“If there was something that we could get done that would help, I’d be all for it,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said when asked about possible legislation to address rising costs. “But I don't know what it would be at this point.”
The slim hope that any piece of affordability legislation could possibly get across the Senate floor in the final weeks of September has others in the GOP eager to simply get their vulnerable colleagues back on the campaign trail and make their case directly to voters. It's highly unlikely any bill could get to President Donald Trump’s desk, anyway, given the House’s absence.
So long as senators stay in the Capitol, they are exposing themselves to a barrage of off-message questions about the Iran war and spiraling energy prices — not to mention the latest Trump-related controversies, such as his White House media ban and reports that a Russian oligarch helped finance his son’s wedding.
To keep the focus on affordability, several endangered senators are making last-ditch appeals for legislative action.
They include Republicans who are coalescing behind a plan to have the Trump administration temporarily curb diesel exports — including Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is running in a tough race in a state Trump easily won in 2024 — even as oil industry allies warned it would have little effect or potentially even raise prices in some parts of the country.
“American fuel should stay home with Americans,” Sullivan said in a Tuesday statement.
Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) continued to push Tuesday for further action on a bill he authored aimed at getting data center developers to cover their own energy costs. The bill easily passed the House but was blocked from fast-track consideration last week by Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, who argued the measure didn't go far enough.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said it would be “stupid” for Republicans not to stay in town and jump through the days of procedural hoops required to put Husted’s bill up for a vote.
“When moms and dads lie down and sleep at night, and can’t, they’re not lying there worried about the football coaches, they’re worried about the cost of living,” Kennedy said. “It’s foolish both policy-wise and political-wise not to put it on the floor. … [But] I wouldn’t faint with surprise if Senator Thune said, ‘Y’all go home.’”
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), who is also in a closer-than-expected race, said GOP leaders could put his bill limiting credit card fees up for vote, claiming it would “lower the cost of gasoline two or three percent.” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), meanwhile, said she wants to see her bipartisan bill capping insulin prices get a floor vote next week.
“You’re always torn, but I expected to be in session next week,” Collins said when asked if it would be better to stay or go. She added that passing the insulin bill, a stalled appropriations measure and legislation to overhaul energy permitting ”would make a real difference.”
Only the energy permitting bill still appears to have a shot of reaching the Senate floor — and senators and aides acknowledge it's a long one. Republicans believe it would let them show voters they are capable of addressing cost-of-living issues before the election, even if the effects of the legislation won’t be felt for years. Some Democrats believe now is the best time to win concessions from the Trump administration that could help achieve clean energy goals.
Thune pointed to the ongoing permitting talks as one of the reasons that the schedule remains “up in the air” — calling it “something I think most of our members believe is really, really consequential legislation and worthwhile.”
During a floor speech Tuesday, Thune touted the work already done by Republicans, saying they had “spent the last two years delivering on our agenda” — putting “more money in your pocket,” working to lower taxes for families and making “homeownership more affordable.”
But he also acknowledged the political headwinds facing his party in the midterms, telling reporters that he was “hopeful” about their chances of keeping the majority but also “realistic.”
“It’s a very competitive environment out there — a lot of tight races, many of them in the margin of error,” Thune said, but added that Republicans had superior candidates, an aggressive ground game and a “compelling message.”
Kelsey Brugger and Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.
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