News: Senate GOP ponders a Trump endorsement

Monday, November 11, 2024

Senate GOP ponders a Trump endorsement

Nov 11, 2024

Presented by The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing

With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) speaks alongside Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), at right, and other members of Senate Republican leadership during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol June 4, 2024. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)

TO ENDORSE OR NOT TO ENDORSE

Many conservatives online are pressing Donald Trump to weigh in on which Senate GOP leader candidate he’s backing. But here’s our gut check: A Trump endorsement — even if it came — might not matter.

For months, we’ve asked Senate Republicans about the impact of a Trump endorsement. And we’ve repeatedly heard the same things:

Many senators aren’t sure the president-elect will endorse — and question whether he should. Some have gone so far as to say that they believe Trump should stay out of the race
Due to the secret-ballot nature of the election, it might not make a difference.

“Let the senators decide on their own,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) told Inside Congress on Monday. Tuberville is a close Trump ally and endorsed Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) for GOP leader over the weekend, citing the need to bolster Trump’s agenda.
“I think everybody should make their own decision. And President Trump, I think it's good he stays out of it,” Tuberville added.

And take these thoughts from senators over the summer:

“Most senators aren't going to let anybody tell them how to vote and, besides that, it's a secret ballot anyway,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who supports Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) for the next Republican leader, told POLITICO of a potential Trump endorsement.

“This is a secret ballot, so I doubt it,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said when asked if Trump’s endorsement would be a factor.

Of the candidates, which include Thune, Scott and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Scott is considered the most closely allied with the incoming president. But Cornyn and Thune have both worked to strengthen their relationships with Trump through the campaign cycle.

However, that’s not to say Trump doesn’t matter here. Senators have stressed they want someone who can work with the president-elect — and the candidates for leader clearly feel that pressure, quickly addressing new asks from the president, like his idea for permitting recess appointments (more on that below). But GOP senators are indicating that they’re weighing that Trump-collaboration factor without needing an explicit endorsement to guide their thinking.

And remember: If Trump did endorse, the secret-ballot system would give anyone who votes against his chosen pick some insulation from blowback. We still don’t know how every senator voted in the last leadership election between Scott and GOP Leader Mitch McConnell.

Right now, there are only a handful of public leadership endorsements from fellow senators. Cornyn has one from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). Thune is endorsed by Rounds and Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.). And Scott is leading with five. Senators’ efforts to keep their decisions private are intentional; some haven’t made up their minds, and few want to risk backing the wrong horse and face retribution later.

“You talk to any one of the senators … people will tell you the same thing: I like all three of them. I'm good friends with all three of them. Any of them would do a good job,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who is highly likely to be the the next GOP whip, told us last week.

One flip-side tidbit: Whoever the next GOP leader is will have to work with Democrats in the upcoming term. Democratic Sen. Peter Welch (Vt.) earlier this month had this to say about the GOP competitors:

“I think, clearly, Thune and Cornyn are the front-runners. And I think they're both real responsible institutionalists. I mean, that'll be obviously a Republican decision, but the front-runners, Thune and Cornyn, I think, are both pretty good senators.”

— Ursula Perano, with an assist from Jordain Carney

GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, Nov. 11, where we’re relishing the last day of recess before all hell breaks loose.

A message from The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing:

Big Pharma games the system to keep prescription drug prices high. Brand name drug companies build blockades of patents to extend monopolies and block competition from more affordable alternatives – costing patients, taxpayers and the U.S. health care system billions of dollars each year. Market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable for their egregious anti-competitive tactics, especially patent thickets, have broad bipartisan support. Congress must pass these solutions into law. Learn more.

ABOUT THOSE RECESS APPOINTMENTS

Trump has yet to endorse in the Senate GOP leadership race, but that hasn’t kept him from weighing in on the upper chamber, calling for a revival of recess appointments for his nominees.

The president has the power to make emergency appointments to the executive branch and federal judiciary when the Senate is in recess, but in 2014 the Supreme Court ruled that the Senate break must extend for 10 days or longer to justify a recess appointment.

Enter the prolific pro formas. Every few days, even during long recess periods, a member of the Senate majority comes to Washington to gavel in the chamber for a pro forma session where little to no business is conducted. But this schedule is specifically devised to prevent the president from making recess appointments and sidestepping the chamber’s advice and consent role.

Trump and Biden have both endured the pro-forma blockage of recess appointments — even when their parties had unified control of Congress and the presidency.

Sen. Rick Scott backed Trump 100 percent, saying he’ll do “whatever it takes” to get Trump nominees through quickly.

Cornyn pledged to keep the Senate in nights and weekends to get Trump nominees confirmed, and Thune said “all options are on the table” to move Trump nominees forward.

There are some serious potential hurdles, however, to Trump’s vision of nominees sailing smoothly past the Senate.

Cap: Recess appointments clock out after two years unless senators come back and confirm the nominee.
Pay: Most people want to be paid for their work. Anyone who joins the administration or judiciary by recess appointment for a position became vacant while the Senate was in session won’t get paid until the Senate confirms them.
Democrats: Democrats could try and stifle recess appointments by trying to block adjournment, causing delays. Republicans would need 60 votes — aka, help from a half dozen Democrats — to move forward with starting a recess.

Reminder: Votes for nominees require just a majority — 51 votes. If there are concerns that certain nominees may not earn the backing of Senate Republicans, recess appointments would be a way to circumvent such worries.

— Katherine Tully-McManus

A message from The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing:

NEW MEMBER DISORIENTATION

The Senate loves being the most exclusive club on Capitol Hill. And that extends to the upper chamber’s orientation for new members, which starts this week.

Arizona has the last uncalled Senate race, in which Democrat Ruben Gallego leads Republican Kari Lake, but votes are still being counted. The Associated Press called Pennsylvania for Republican Dave McCormick, but incumbent Democrat Bob Casey has yet to concede.

While their potential colleagues are posting photos with their spiral bound guide for incoming senators, they’re being left out of the first-term festivities — for now. No invite has been extended to McCormick from the secretary of the Senate (who takes direction from the majority leader).

“With over 100,000 ballots left to be counted in Pennsylvania, the race has not been decided. As is custom, we will invite the winner once the votes are counted.” a Schumer spokesperson said in a statement.

That stance is drawing criticism from GOP senators and Democrat-turned-independent Kyrsten Sinema.

“In 2018 my race wasn’t called for 6 days. I jumped on a redeye to DC to make Senate orientation — I learned so much & made lasting relationships that week. Dave McCormick & Ruben Gallego will be senators for PA & AZ. They should be invited to orientation & start learning the job,” Sinema posted on social media.

The Senate tension over senators-to-be is in stark contrast to the House, where both candidates from uncalled races are routinely invited to New Member Orientation. It leads to awkward run-ins and a reality show “who will get sent home this week” quality, but ensures that everyone in an incoming class gets the full orientation experience.

— Katherine Tully-McManus

A message from The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing:

Big Pharma's abuse of the patent system is designed to maintain monopolies over their biggest money-makers, boosting brand name drug makers’ profits at the expense of American patients and taxpayers. One of their anti-competitive tactics involves filing dozens, sometimes hundreds, of patents on blockbuster products to build extensive “patent thickets,” completely disconnected from any true innovation. An economic analysis found Big Pharma’s patent thickets on just five drugs cost American patients and the U.S. health care system more than $16 billion in a single year.

The Congressional Budget Office has confirmed bipartisan, market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable for patent abuse will lower drug prices and the U.S. Senate unanimously passed one solution, Cornyn-Blumenthal (S.150), earlier this year. Now is the time for Congress to finish the job – and pass solutions to lower drug prices by cracking down on patent abuse and promoting competition. Learn more.

HUDDLE HOTDISH

If you’re the representative-elect who asked a big group for directions to a press conference Monday, don’t worry, you were only asking a meeting of POLITICO’s entire Congress team.

Also, if you’re the owner of the gray hatchback …

The Senate basement: ultra recess and holiday edition.

REGISTER NOW: Join POLITICO and Capital One for a deep-dive discussion with Acting HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman, Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and other housing experts on how to fix America’s housing crisis and build a foundation for financial prosperity. Register to attend in-person or virtually here.

QUICK LINKS

Michael Grimm, former House member convicted of tax fraud, is paralyzed in fall from horse , from Karen Matthews at The Associated Press

(Opinion) What should Democrats do now? Form a shadow cabinet, from Rep. Wiley Nickel in the Washington Post

(Opinion) The modern Republican Party and our mandate, from Sen. John Thune at Fox News

What Congress must get done during the lame duck, from Andres Picon, Kelsey Brugger, Marc Heller at E&E News

Joni Ernst Privately Expresses Interest in Becoming Trump’s Next Secretary of Defense, from Reese Gorman at NOTUS

TRANSITIONS

Jami LaRue is now comms director for Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). She was previously member services and outreach director for the Democratic Women’s Caucus under Chair Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), and is a Rosa DeLauro alum.

Elections mean major shakeups. Send us your next steps to insidecongress@politico.com!

TOMORROW IN CONGRESS

The House is BACK for a vote at 6:30 p.m.

The Senate is BACK for a vote at 5:30 p.m.

TUESDAY AROUND THE HILL

10 a.m. Speaker Mike Johnson, Leader Steve Scalise, Whip Tom Emmer and Chairman Richard Hudson host a press conference. House east front steps.

TRIVIA

FRIDAY’S ANSWER: Rebecca Rich correctly answered that it was at Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s home in late 2020 that the stimulus bill was said to have been decided over a pasta dinner — and that her family also happens to own their own pasta company.

TODAY’S QUESTION, from Rebecca: Who were the tallest and shortest presidents?

The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@politico.com.

GET INSIDE CONGRESS emailed to your phone each evening.