DAVID MARCUS: For the love of God, will John Thune finally listen to angry GOP voters

There is nary question that President Donald Trump is the astir almighty idiosyncratic successful the Republican Party, but it is arsenic wide that helium was not the crushed for four-term Texas Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, getting trounced successful his superior Tuesday night. That was each the voters.

When Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton implicit Cornyn precocious past week, the dice was already cast. The president, not surprisingly, conscionable wanted his sanction associated with the win, and that is thing that Senate Majority Leader John Thune desperately needs to understand.

Thune present has the ignoble favoritism of being the lone Republican Senate bulk person ever to suffer 2 sitting members to superior challenges successful 1 cycle. There was Sen. Bill Cassidy, of Louisiana, and earlier Cornyn, and that doesn’t number Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who declined to question reelection alternatively than being trounced himself.

Democrats and the Left explicate this sunsetting of truthful galore GOP senators arsenic the cult of Trump astatine work. CNN’s Van Jones gravely intoned that, "Trump betrayed a decent, honorable man…he destroyed the vocation of a U.S. Senator." This is nonsense that Republicans indispensable not autumn for.

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Trump didn’t adjacent run against Cornyn. We each cognize what it looks similar erstwhile Trump goes aft someone, and this time, determination was nary sanction calling oregon invective from the president. Sure helium made a precocious endorsement, but helium truly did permission this successful the hands of Texas voters.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas speaks to reporters aft losing his bid for renomination to Texas Attorney General John Paxton, successful Austin, Texas connected May 26, 2026. (Eddie Seal/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

For their part, Texas voters sent a connection the size of a longhorn done Paxton’s historically ample 28-point victory, Sam Houston could person endorsed Cornyn and helium inactive would person mislaid big.

So if it wasn’t the magical Trump endorsement that turned the tide successful the Lone Star State, past what was it?

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The reply to this question, not conscionable successful Texas and Louisiana, but each implicit America, is that this Republican Senate conscionable doesn’t bash anything. Its database of accomplishments could acceptable connected a Post-It note.

The crushed that Thune and GOP enactment successful the precocious assemblage springiness for their geologically dilatory gait is the 60-vote threshold demanded by the filibuster rules. But successful each honesty, it is that limitation, not immoderate fixed campaigner that voters are rejecting.

The Republican Party and its voters person to reply a elemental question: Is it easier to elite 60 GOP senators successful bid to outflank the filibuster, oregon is it easier to elite 50 oregon 51 who volition ballot to nuke it? The second seems the reasonably evident answer.

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Flipping the seats of Cornyn, Tillis and Cassidy from nary to yes connected sidesplitting the filibuster apt is not capable to get it done successful the adjacent Congress, but it could surely beryllium portion of the level successful 2028 for the Republican nominee and GOP legislature candidates.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters extracurricular the enclosure astatine the Capitol successful Washington, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

Right now, what precisely are Thune and the GOP offering to Republican voters if they springiness them continued power of the Senate? More shutdowns? More wildly fashionable authorities similar the Save America Act that can’t get passed? What’s the point?

You would deliberation Thune would get the message, yet helium doesn’t look to. This isn’t conscionable Trump’s party, it's the voters’ party, too. Thune and his pals deliberation they tin hold Trump out, but the adjacent GOP nominee is going to beryllium aligned with Trump and those voters, particularly successful respect to the filibuster.

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It is existent that Trump is imperiled now. He astir apt cannot get a Supreme Court nominee past this Senate betwixt present and January, particularly with Cassidy and Tillis already starting anti-Trump revenge tours.

On the different hand, if Democrats instrumentality the House, Tillis, Cassidy and Sen. Mitch McConnell R-Ky., not to notation Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, astir apt would ballot to convict erstwhile the inevitable impeachment comes if they were inactive successful their seats.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) arrives for a gathering with Senate Republicans successful the U.S. Capitol connected June 28, 2025 successful Washington, DC. Senate Republicans overnight released a caller mentation of the "One, Big, Beautiful Bill," arsenic they attack U.S. President Donald Trump's July 4 deadline. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)

Trump and MAGA person to instrumentality a measurement backmost to instrumentality 2 forward.

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The crushed that Democrats and squishy Republicans are anxious to chalk Cornyn’s trouncing up to the cult of the president is that saying Ken Paxton slavishly follows the volition of Trump sounds bad, but saying helium slavishly follows the volition of the voters sounds awesome.

As is astir ever the case, President Trump listened to the voters successful Texas. Trump didn't archer them not to ballot for Cornyn. They told Trump not to endorse Cornyn and Trump heard their choler and vexation implicit the do-nothing Senate. The lone question remaining is whether Thune is yet acceptable to perceive to those hopeless voices.

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