Trump attacks Senate Republican No.2 as President turns on allies in his final days in office

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Trump, returning to the White House after vacationing in Mar-a-Lago with no public events on his schedule, attacked Senator John Thune, a South Dakotan who is the second Senate Republican, in a tweet from the afternoon on New Years Day.
“Hope to see the great South Dakota Governor @KristiNoem, run against RINO @SenJohnThune, in the next 2022 primary. She would do a fantastic job in the US Senate, but if not for Kristi, others are already lining up. South Dakota Wants Strong Leadership NOW! ” he written in a tweet.

Trump has insulted the Republican leadership several times this week, but this time he is naming names. Thune, the Senate majority whip, had been one of the best Republicans to speak out in favor of accepting the electoral college results and winning President-elect Joe Biden, angering Trump.

“Once someone gets 270, I understand they are deciding right now, but I think that’s the process we have, yeah. … Ultimately, at some point you have to face the music. And I think once the Electoral College settles the issue today, it’s time for everyone to move on, ”Thune said ahead of the Electoral College’s formal voting process last month.

Trump’s tweet comes just 19 days before he left the White House and days before a joint session of Congress is ready to officially certify the Electoral College’s results, with some Trump allies planning to join his efforts without basis to overturn the election results.
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The president returned to Washington ahead of the Jan.6 event, when as many as 140 House Republicans, joined by at least one senator, Republican from Missouri Josh Hawley, were able to vote to reject electoral votes in major states. swing that Trump lost. Trump praised Hawley in a tweet Thursday night.

Hawley told reporters on Friday he had not yet decided how many of the Electoral College’s results he planned to oppose, saying: “I haven’t worked out the mechanism yet.”

Several of Hawley’s Republican colleagues expressed concern on Friday about his plans and the impact such a move could have on American democracy. Retired Republican Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said he believed Hawley’s intended objection was a mistake, while Utah Senator Mitt Romney, a vocal critic of Trump, said “spread this kind of rumor that our electoral system is not working is dangerous for democracy here and abroad. “

McConnell, who called congressional certification the “biggest vote” of his career, would not answer CNN’s question on Friday whether he was considering sanctions or punishments against the freshman if he took up the challenge which GOP leaders strongly opposed.

Thune told reporters on Friday that “this is an issue that is incredibly consequential, incredibly rare historically and sets a very precedent. So our members are – it’s a big vote, they’re thinking about it.”

“I think now that we have to do this, we will clear up the objections and people can spend their day in court and we will hear from everyone and we will vote,” he continued. “Like I said, I think in the end, I don’t think anything changes.”

McConnell called Hawley over the Electoral College's objection on the conference call Hawley was not on

“We let people vote according to their conscience,” Thune said, with several Republican members saying there was little they could do to stop Hawley from opposing.

Trump is already starting to get a glimpse of how he will spend his post-presidency. In recent days, he suggested to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, whom he had supported and been a staunch ally of Trump until the November vote, to step down because he would not help undo Biden’s victory. in this state. He has also repeatedly attacked Georgian Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger, another Republican whom he endorsed midway through 2018.

The president has raised hundreds of millions of dollars since the Nov. 3 election, a majority of which goes directly to new PAC fundraising leadership, Save America, which is expected to help him donate to other candidates and political activities, because he considers a potential. presidential candidacy in 2024.

With this tweet, Trump is already planting the idea that he would support candidates offering major challenges to current Republicans in the House and Senate whom he considers disloyal.

For her part, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, one of Trump’s main allies, said last week that she would not seek the Senate seat.

“@johnthune is a friend of mine, and I’m not going to challenge him. I am honored to be Governor of South Dakota and will be asking people to give me the opportunity to continue serving as Governor in 2022 “, has she wrote.
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Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, lambasted Trump for encouraging a main challenge in 2022 against Thune. She told CNN on Friday: “I think it’s quite interesting that he demanded a loyalty test from so many Republicans and then when they’re loyal to him – and there’s an incident, a statement – and he’s the first to throw those loyal individuals under the bus. It’s not loyalty as I know it. “

As a key member of the GOP leadership team, Thune has done a lot to advance Trump’s causes on Capitol Hill – from passing tax cuts and other laws, to confirmations of candidate for election. Supreme Court and many other judges, as well as critical acquittal votes during Trump. Senate impeachment trial – although he has at times spoken about some of the president’s most controversial acts.

For her part, Thune ignored the presidential tweet with a laugh.

“Yeah, well, an attacking tweet. What took him so long?” Thune, calm and soft-spoken, told reporters as he left Capitol Hill after the vote to overturn Trump’s veto on the defense bill. “That’s good, that’s how he communicates.”

Thune said that there had been no effort to work things out with the president: “No, I’m not sure what I did to deserve all of this, but it’s okay. said, I’m not sure if anything changes its mind once it’s done. “

This story has been updated with additional reports.

Caroline Kelly of CNN contributed to this report.



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