Once again, the U.S. Senate is on vacation. This group barely works, and when they are in session, they accomplish practically nothing. Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, Congress has passed only one major piece of legislation.
While the “One Big Beautiful Bill” was a notable accomplishment, it should not have been the only legislative victory for the Republican Congress. During the same period of President Joe Biden’s administration, a Democratic-led Congress passed four major pieces of legislation: the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the CHIPS Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Of course, these bills harmed our economy, propelled wasteful spending, and funded ludicrous “green energy” projects; however, these legislative successes showed the unity and discipline of the Democratic Party.
As usual, congressional Republicans are not united because too many are not real conservatives and have more in common with Democrats than with President Trump. Also, congressional Republicans like to talk, promise, and campaign, but they almost never deliver legislative victories.
Sadly, too many GOP members of Congress prefer to be in the minority, where they can make noise but are not responsible for anything.
This was exactly the dilemma in the first Trump term. When Republicans had a chance to finally eliminate the disastrous Affordable Care Act and save our healthcare system, they failed because the late U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) gave his infamous “thumbs down,” and the bill died.
In those years, Republicans delivered the Trump tax cuts but not much else, and the result of the 2018 midterm election was that Democrats took control of the U.S. House, gaining 40 seats.
The same result will occur in the 2026 midterm election unless Republicans start to deliver legislative victories for the American people. Unfortunately, the U.S. Senate is filled with establishment Republicans who hate the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement and are not aligned with President Trump on a host of issues.
The list of Republicans in Name Only (RINO) in the U.S. Senate is very long, starting with the Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD). He sent his colleagues home for a long Memorial Day holiday because of his anger at the $1.776 billion fund that was created to compensate individuals who claim they were victims of government “weaponization.”
The documentation that January 6, 2021, protesters were unfairly treated by the Biden Justice Department is quite established. Of course, those people should be compensated if they suffered political retribution rather than justice. Not surprisingly, RINO Senators were apoplectic that the “weaponization” fund was created and joined Thune in a political revolt against Trump.
Thune is also upset that the President endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his GOP primary against incumbent U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), another longtime RINO who deserves to be sent packing.
Fortunately, this old guard is finally leaving. U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) lost his primary election on May 16. His colleague, Cornyn, will lose his U.S. Senate seat. Another RINO, U.S. Senator Tom Tillis (R-NC), is retiring, along with “the old crow,” U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
However, before this old guard finally leaves, they will make life very difficult for President Trump and the MAGA movement. Cassidy switched his vote to support a War Powers resolution, allowing Congress to restrict the President’s military options in the war with Iran. The bill passed the U.S. Senate, and a similar bill will be considered by the U.S. House.
The U.S. Senate also refused to support funding for the President’s ballroom renovation and security upgrades, and delayed a vote on the reconciliation package that includes funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Border Patrol, and Secret Service
Another RINO roadblock was created for the common-sense Save America Act, which has the strong support of both Republican and Democratic voters. This bill mandates citizenship for voter registration and voter identification for election participation. Once again, a vote on the bill is being blocked in the U.S. Senate, as Thune refuses to eliminate the filibuster so it can pass.
If Democrats take control of the U.S. Senate after the midterm elections, they will have no qualms about eliminating the filibuster. This illustrates how Republicans never play the political game the same way as Democrats, who are much more cutthroat.
As usual, Republicans want to be liked and play nice with the Democrats and their opponents in the media. The result is that important legislation never gets passed, and the MAGA faithful get annoyed.
If the base of the Republican Party is not motivated to vote in the midterm elections, it will be a “bloodbath” for the GOP.
The only remedy for this political dilemma is for President Trump to use his authority to issue a series of Executive Orders on all the issues the U.S. Senate refuses to address. Simultaneously, he can hit the road to support MAGA candidates in the fall and try to elect as many pro-Trump legislators as possible.
The revamp of the Republican Party has not been easy, and it has taken many years. It started in 2015 when Donald Trump descended the “golden escalator” and entered the presidential race. He immediately began his effort to remake a party that was identified with losers like Mitt Romney, the Bush family, Dick Cheney, and Paul Ryan, among many others.
The effort continues and will have major implications in the future. MAGA supporters should never forget that the GOP establishment would prefer to lose their congressional majority in 2026 than help President Trump pass his agenda.
The RINO Senators and their GOP establishment colleagues see MAGA as their political enemy, not Democrats. This old guard is using the political battles of 2026 to lay the groundwork to reassert control of the Republican Party in 2028.
Fortunately, this effort will fail; this is their last hurrah. The Republican Party will never return to the days of losing and capitulation. President Trump and MAGA supporters will not allow it.
Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian and his award-winning program, “Ringside Politics,” airs Saturdays from 1-2 p.m. CT nationally on Real America’s Voice TV Network & AmericasVoice.News and weekdays from 7-9 a.m. & 6-7 p.m. CT on WGSO 990-AM & Wgso.com. He is the President and General Manager of WGSO Radio, a political columnist, the author of America’s Last Chance, and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and at Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jcrouere@gmail.com.
