Congress

Here Are the GOP Senators Who Could Take Down Trump’s Cabinet Picks

Published

2 years ago

November 21, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump’s rapid-fire cabinet appointments have made clear what he values: loyalty to Donald Trump and a demonstrated ability to articulate that loyalty on television.

The response to The Trump Show’s casting call will be even more clarifying. In short: Will the Senate remain the Senate?

While much of the GOP has become a Trump subsidiary, there are still some Senate Republicans who consider themselves members of a co-equal branch of government and take their Advise and Consent duty seriously.

Not that this is the Hollywood version of the Senate. Most of the 53 Republican lawmakers in the incoming Senate want to support their party’s president, who just won a decisive victory and enjoys diehard support from the bulk of their voters. They’d much rather air their concerns about Trump’s picks privately and avoid having to cast a vote in opposition to any of them. No need to do any “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” impressions on the Senate floor when the oppo research can work its will.

Yet it’s that lack of appetite for a public showdown with Trump that will make the first months of the new Congress so telling. The fates of the fringe appointees who come up for a confirmation vote will reveal one of the most important new power centers in Washington, and perhaps one of the few checks on Trump II: the lame duck caucus.

Yes, it’s those senators who may never have to face Republican primary voters again and are therefore immune from Trump’s greatest power — his control of the GOP base.

These are the lawmakers for which freedom — to borrow from the great and recently departed Kris Kristofferson — is just another word for nothing left to lose.

This is not to say that every Republican senator who opposes a Trump appointment is headed for the exits. Some are independent minded, and their political strength flows partly from that identity (looking at you, senior senators from Maine and Alaska).

However, to examine those GOP senators whose terms are up in 2026 and 2028 is to grasp how some of Trump’s most provocative picks could be blocked, provided the 47 Democrats and independents vote in unified opposition.

The challenge will not just be how willing they are to thwart Trump, but whether they will be willing to do so with more than one nominee. It’s one thing to rise up with safety in numbers and block, say, Matt Gaetz’s nomination as attorney general should it reach the floor. It’s quite another to torpedo Gaetz and then take down another, let alone two or three, more Trump appointees.

It’s worth watching, though, because this same bloc of Republican lawmakers would also be the most likely to reemerge later in Trump’s term to selectively challenge him on issues (tariffs or foreign policy come to mind) or an inevitable power grab.

So who’s in this latest Senate gang, one most would deny being part of?

Let’s begin with those senators who are up in 2026.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.): The longest-serving Senate leader in American history tops the list because he is the most likely retiree. McConnell is the consummate partisan — look no further than his return to Trump after prematurely consigning him to history’s ash heap. He’s also a team player who will not want to make life unduly difficult for his successor as leader, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.).

However, McConnell has also made clear he wants to use the end of his 40-plus years in the Senate to steer his party away from isolationism. How committed he is to that task could be determined early next year should he have to consider Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary and Tulsi Gabbard as intelligence chief.

Sen. John Cornyn (Texas): Equally liberated could be the man who fell a few votes short of becoming McConnell’s successor. In the immediate wake of his defeat, Cornyn, who turns 73 in February, said he still planned to run for reelection. Yet after not realizing his years-long goal of becoming Senate GOP leader, does Cornyn really want to spend the next 16 months racing between Texas and Washington to fend off a right-wing primary so he can serve in the rank-and-file until he’s 80? If not, he’s free to act, and vote, like the Bush Republican he is.

Sen. Susan Collins (Maine): Finally poised to claim the Appropriations gavel she’s long coveted, Collins has also indicated she intends to run for reelection in two years. I don’t doubt it. But what sort of a primary and general election could loom in her bifurcated state? There’s a reason why the dexterous Collins is the last sitting GOP senator to carry a state that her party’s presidential nominee lost. Striking that balance of keeping core Republicans from her native rural Maine happy without angering moderate Mainers closer to Portland will be on her mind with every contentious vote.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.): Like Collins, Cassidy voted to convict Trump of impeachment charges nearly four years ago. Unlike Collins, Cassidy hails from a deeply pro-Trump state. Even more ominous for the Louisiana lawmaker, his state’s famous jungle primary — in which all candidates for office appear on a single ballot open to all voters — is no more for federal races. Now chairing the HELP Committee, Cassidy, a physician, may not want to walk away. But if he concludes he will lose a Republican primary, he’ll be free to vote as boldly as he did when he was one of only seven Senate Republicans to convict Trump.

Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.): Tillis’ most vexing potential primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, is no more thanks to, well, you know what. But like Collins, Tillis is staring at the prospect of more conservative Republicans eager to pounce should he break from Trump. And Tillis could have one of the most hard-fought general elections in the country should outgoing Gov. Roy Cooper be tempted to run. (Expect Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to have memorized Cooper’s number by the first of the year.)

More than the hassle of an expensive primary and general election two years on may be the more immediate question of whether a dealmaker like Tillis can find satisfaction in the Senate during another time of Trump. Will he make his peace with MAGA, as he did under Trump I? Or will he follow the course of his neighbor to the west, former Senator Bob Corker, and decide after two terms he’s had quite enough of the “adult day care center” that is the Trump White House.

Sen. Joni Ernst (Iowa): Ernst has been sounding Trumpier lately. Perhaps she’ll be tapped for an administration post. Army Secretary or Defense Secretary, if Hegseth is derailed, could be alluring for a military veteran like Ernst. But, as with Cornyn, she lost a leadership race and is now something of a free agent. And like McConnell, she doesn’t hide her more hawkish national security views.

I’m tempted to include Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), a pre-Trump Republican if there ever was one. Capito turns 71 next week and may not want to spend most of her 70s in the Senate. Yet she’ll be mindful of voting in a way that, in a state where the primary is now tantamount to election, won’t undermine her son or nephew from becoming the third generation of Moores elected statewide.

Okay, onto those up in 2028.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Ark.): Murkowski is the other remaining GOP senator who voted to convict Trump of impeachment charges in the aftermath of the attack on the Capitol. She has already won one primary as a write-in candidate. And she may prevail again should she run again in four years if Alaska’s ranked-choice system survives repeal efforts. But that Anchorage to D.C. commute doesn’t get any shorter. Regardless of her ultimate plans, there may be no more liberated Republican senator in the body next year.

Sen. Charles Grassley (Iowa): Grassley has been in elected office since the Eisenhower administration and I’m reluctant to ever assume he’s on the verge of retirement. But at 91, perhaps the Iowan will start considering his retirement years. Seriously, though, the Judiciary Committee chair has not shown much interest in challenging Trump previously. But if ever there was a GOP lawmaker without political considerations to weigh, it’s the hog farmer and Twitter maven from New Hartford, Iowa.

Sen. Todd Young (Ind.): It got remarkably little attention, but Young didn’t endorse Trump’s candidacy this year. Which puts him in league with Collins and Murkowski. That’s no small thing for a 52-year-old from deep-red (crimson?) Indiana with years ahead of him in elected office. If he wants as much. That may depend on the state of party.

Regardless, Young, a Naval Academy graduate and Marine, is in the internationalist tradition of his long-ago boss, Sen. Richard Lugar. And his deafening silence this year toward Trump’s candidacy suggests he’s not afraid to go his own way.

Sen. Jerry Moran (Kansas): The low-key former House member — he and Thune arrived in the same class to that chamber — has avoided tangling with Trump. But Moran is a Republican traditionalist who could be in his last term. He’s 70 and, like Cornyn, may not want to remain in the Senate until he’s 80.

Sen. To Be Named Later (Ohio): The successor to Vice-President-elect JD Vance is a mystery but the person who will decide who fills the seat is not. It’s Gov. Mike DeWine, an old school Republican nearing, presumably, his final two years in elected office. Will DeWine pick a placeholder in his image, somebody who may defy Trump, or a more MAGA-friendly figure who can survive a primary?

That’s it for the 2028 class. I’ll resist the temptation to scout those GOP senators up in 2030 — except to note this may be Armed Services Chair and national security hawk Sen. Roger Wicker’s (R-Miss.) last term.

Not that he or most any other GOP senator will want to break from Trump. But as the once and future president has proven for nearly a decade, and is proving anew since the election, the only thing more vexing than being a Trump critic is being a Trump ally.

Congress

James Talarico announces record-breaking $64M haul

Published

52 minutes ago

October 15, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Texas Democrat James Talarico raised a staggering $64 million this summer — the largest third-quarter haul of any Senate candidate in history.

The national Democratic darling raised more than $134.3 million since launching his campaign in September of 2025, according to figures shared first with Blue Light News. More than 1.3 million donors contributed, the campaign said, as Democrats slowly reconcile themselves to their long-held but often fumbled dream of gaining a statewide perch in Texas. About 97% of those donations were of $100 or less.

“Grassroots contributors from across Texas are coming together to end billionaire control over our politics and bring down costs for working families,” Talarico said in a statement shared first with Blue Light News.

The announcement is a bright spot in an otherwise rough few days, with Talarico reemerging on the trail after being out for more than a week with the flu.

But Texas is an expensive state to run in, and Republicans are taking his campaign seriously. Talarico already had some $235 million spent against him as national Republicans scramble to hold the seat and boost Ken Paxton. Texas has emerged as a money pit for Republicans following a divisive GOP primary that saw Paxton, the controversial state attorney general, vanquish incumbent GOP Sen. John Cornyn, a favorite of the party establishment.

Talarico faces a wall of GOP money in the final days of the race.

“He’s fighting this battle basically alone while Elon Musk and the full weight of the GOP fundraising apparatus outspends him 2:1. This is still an uphill battle,” said a Democratic strategist doing work in Texas, granted anonymity to candidly discuss Talarico’s disadvantages.

In his 2018 Texas Senate run, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke raised a record $38.1 million in the third quarter, and South Carolina Democrat Jaime Harrison eclipsed that amount with a $57 million third quarter in 2020.

Congress

Capitol agenda: Waters rallies support as rivals circle

Published

2 hours ago

October 15, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The race to be the top House Financial Services Democrat could shape up to be a free-for-all.

Rep. Maxine Waters, 88, who has spent decades on the committee, faces a challenge from Rep. Sean Casten, 54, and a potential bid from Rep. Bill Foster, 71, a more moderate panel member.

And Rep. Joyce Beatty, a longtime ally of Waters and senior member on the panel, has been encouraged by some Democratic lawmakers and lobbyists to run, although she would only jump in the race “contingent on the current chairwoman not being able to have enough votes,” said a House Democratic staffer close to the committee granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive dynamics.

A spokesperson for Beatty said in a statement she’d be voting for Waters as chair.

Waters, a resistance icon and accomplished legislator, meanwhile, is already shoring up support.

“Unless there is an individual who brings the unrivaled experience and tantalizing toughness of Maxine Waters, I look forward to supporting her,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a member of both Financial Services and the Congressional Black Caucus, said in a statement.

The 50-plus member CBC is likely to bolster Waters’ bid, and Waters could also leverage her Los Angeles-area seat for support from the 43 Democrats in California’s congressional delegation. Beatty is also a CBC member.

Waters and her team have also been making calls this week to recruit members to whip for her, including moderate Rep. Josh Gottheimer and progressive Rep. Ayanna Pressley, according to two people with knowledge of her outreach.

Waters is an outspoken progressive who can also tout a track record of dealmaking with Republicans. By tapping two members on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, she is casting herself as a unifier.

On policy, Casten generally aligns with Waters. But his backers insist he has a unique lane given a caucus-wide appetite for generational change.

One senior House Democrat, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said they believe Casten will make the race a fight, and described a “widespread perception” in the caucus that octogenarians hanging on to leadership roles is “just selfish, and is not in the best interests of our caucus. We need to have the best team on the field.”

In 2024, a slate of younger House Democrats successfully challenged aging incumbents by pitching themselves as the fresh, energetic faces of their committees.

At that time, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stayed out of the fray, and he might again. A Jeffries spokesperson did not return a request for comment.

What else we’re watching:

— HOUSE DEMS LOOK FOR CLARK TO BRING ‘ORDER’: Democrats’ No. 2 leader wants a chamber reset after four years of routine floor meltdowns and speaker revolts in a GOP-controlled House. But if Democratic majority materializes, it will include progressives like Rep. Katherine Clark herself, as well as “majority-maker” moderates and a crop of new leftist lawmakers. “To handle a couple hundred members of Congress is no kid job,” moderate Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who would be the longest-serving House Democrat if she can win reelection, said of Clark, adding she’s well-equipped to “keep order in the House, get our business done on time.” Clark and Jeffries, are intent on neutralizing infighting and keeping the House focused on an affordability and accountability agenda to pave the way for a presidential win in 2028.

— LEE, CRUZ BACK JAN. 6 CO-CONSPIRATOR: Two prominent Senate Judiciary Republicans are asking the Supreme Court to review the disbarment of John Eastman for helping orchestrate the plot to overturn the 2020 election for President Donald Trump. Sen. Mike Lee, who is poised to be the top Republican on the panel next Congress, and Sen. Ted Cruz, wrote in a brief filed with SCOTUS Wednesday that the decision to revoke Eastman’s license to practice law in California was a result of political activists weaponizing the bar disciplinary process against attorneys on “the disfavored side of public controversies.” Eastman was criminally charged in Georgia and Arizona for his role in the scheme, and in April he was disbarred.

Chris Marquette contributed to this report.

Congress

Joe Manchin says he’s ‘tickled to death’ — over a deal on permitting reform

Published

2 hours ago

October 15, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

There’s cautious optimism that Congress can pass a bill by year’s end to overhaul the federal permitting process for energy projects — even from the man who failed twice to land a deal.

“I think it’s well past 50%” that it gets signed into law, said former Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia in a recent interview. He was referring to a deal his ex-colleagues have reached with the White House on legislation that would make it easier to build out the nation’s electric grid, prohibit any administration from trying to block certain projects and set less stringent deadlines for conducting environmental reviews.

“I really think President [Donald] Trump will sign, knowing that they’ve worked it hard. Knowing that both sides have worked hard on it — I think he will,” he said. “And I believe the Republican delegation will be able to explain to him how important and how good this is.”

A West Virginia Democrat-turned-independent, Manchin long championed “permitting reform” — a bureaucratic catchphrase that was once a Republican priority known largely among energy policy wonks, but which has since evolved to become a shared bipartisan goal.

Manchin drove that evolution, popularizing the concept in 2022 when he forced Democratic leaders to promise him a vote on the topic in exchange for taking the party’s big climate law off life support.

The effort failed as climate activists and their progressive Hill allies revolted, saying Manchin’s framework would disproportionately favor oil and gas projects over renewables; a follow-up attempt in 2024 again fell short, with many House Republicans uninterested in striking a deal on transmission policy.

Manchin retired in 2025; he is currently serving on the Bipartisan Policy Center’s energy advisory council while raising money for independent candidates for elected office. He has also remained engaged in the permitting debate, saying he continues to speak with some of the senators involved in crafting the overhaul package currently on the table.

His biggest piece of advice: “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Senate negotiators released a permitting framework before breaking for recess ahead of the midterms; it builds on your past bipartisan proposals on this topic. What do you think?

I’m tickled to death. I hope they make it. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good, as it has always been. Everybody wants a little bit more … but it’s something we’ve worked on for a long time.

Have you talked to any Democrats about this?

Everyone feels good about it. [New Mexico Democratic Sen.] Martin [Heinrich] feels good; I’ve talked to Martin. I’ve talked to [Colorado Sen.] John Hickenlooper, talked to [California Sen.] Alex Padilla, my friends here and there. They think it’s moving in the right direction.

Any advice for Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who may have to wrestle with conflicting viewpoints in his caucus?

I trust [Rhode Island Democratic Sen.] Sheldon Whitehouse, and he’s all gung-ho on it. I think Sheldon carries a lot of weight there. [Hawaii Democratic Sen.] Brian Schatz carries an awful lot of weight in that community. I’m sure Chuck has been kept in the loop … I’m hoping we’re good in the Senate.

The thing that bothers me is — I remember in 2024, we tried like the dickens to get it done before the election. Once there’s an election, everyone starts flexing muscles and they think they’re King Kong and just things change.

You last tried to push a deal during the 2024 lame-duck session, after Republicans had just won a governing trifecta. Why do you think it fell apart?

[House Natural Resources Chair] Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) is one of the most competent, one of the most compassionate people I’ve dealt with — and Bruce just said his people wanted a lot more. And I said, “Bruce, we’re giving you a bipartisan bill that we did in the Senate.” But at that time, he was unable to get that because House Republicans said, “we just won everything,” and they just made it impossible for him to make the deal.

Do you think House Republicans will be more amenable this time around, even though they haven’t yet signed off on the agreement brokered in the Senate?

I don’t think they’re going to have the trifecta after this November election. I don’t think they’ll have the House and the Senate; let’s say that one of them flips. It would be advantageous for the president to say, “God, let’s take what we got right now, move forward. Let’s make it happen.” That would be very smart of them … to have that part of the legacy.

So you think a Democratic clean sweep in the midterms could boost the chance of passing a permitting bill?

I really do. Because if [Republicans] have the trifecta again after this … the House would have no incentive at all. And it looks like the toxic atmosphere that we have, and the power of the parties — that’s not the foremost thing that they are worried about. They are worried about their party power.

But what about the Democrats who don’t trust the Trump administration to make good on promises to allow clean energy projects to move forward?

The hardcore left have to realize that we need all the energy we possibly can muster up. You can’t get rid of coal. Coal will be probably eliminated because of the pure cost of it today, but natural gas is a major component of what’s needed for our country. Nuclear is coming on now. We’ve got to have the infrastructure, and I think if you’re coming from the environmental community or coming from the fossil community, we both realize that.

Is there anything you wish you had done differently in 2024?

If anything, I hope my friends on both sides understand: You work on what you can, agree on what you can, agree on what you know that both sides will accept and pass that. The lame duck is going to be the last best chance you have to get something moving in the right direction.