NPR Adds Details on Trump-Thune Rift
A recent update to an NPR article about the escalating conflict between President Trump and Senate Republicans has added new details to the narrative. Specifically, the article now includes a quote from Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who accused Trump of treating the Senate like a 'manufacturing department for the executive branch rather than its board of directors.' This quote provides insight into the growing tensions between Trump and Senate Republicans, with Tillis stating that Trump's actions were a 'colossal mistake.' The added context sheds light on the depth of the rift between Trump and the Senate, which could have significant implications for Republican unity and the upcoming midterm elections.
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+ By
Sam Gringlas
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., takes a question from a reporter following a Republican policy luncheon at the U.S.
− Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Conflict is escalating between President Trump and Senate Republicans Ties between President Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., are being tested, as some Senate Republicans say the president's unpredictable actions are derailing their shared agenda.
+ Capitol on June 16.
− Politics Conflict is escalating between President Trump and Senate Republicans June 23, 20265:43 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered By Sam Gringlas Conflict is escalating between President Trump and Senate Republicans Listen · 4:28 4:28 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5862113/nx-s1-9822043" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Ties between President Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., are being tested, as some Senate Republicans say the president's unpredictable actions are derailing their shared agenda.
+ Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption
Senate Majority Leader John Thune thought he had a plan.
President Trump wanted a loyal attack dog as acting director of national intelligence.
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SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Four Senate Republicans joined with Democrats today to narrowly advance a war powers resolution to end U.S.
+ Democrats and some Republicans were appalled by his pick, Bill Pulte, and threatened to hold up renewing a key spy tool until he was yanked.
− hostilities with Iran.
+ So Thune pressed for a more palatable permanent director, allowing the Senate to swiftly confirm him before Pulte took the reins.
When Trump then nominated Jay Clayton, the U.S.
− We'll hear more on the vote elsewhere in the program.
+ attorney for the Southern District of New York, to take the job permanently, crisis seemed averted.
Then, just hours before the confirmation hearing was scheduled to begin last week, Trump blew up that plan, writing in a 4 a.m.
− It is just the latest example of tension between President Trump and Senate Republicans.
+ social media post that he would not sign legislation reauthorizing the spy tool unless it also included the Save America Act, the strict voter ID law he wants.
Blowback was swift, as simmering tensions between Trump and Senate Republicans spilled into public view.
− And as NPR congressional reporter Sam Gringlas explains, some lawmakers fear the conflict risks derailing their shared agenda.
+ Trump is set to meet with Senate Republicans for lunch on Wednesday as some say the president's erratic moves risk derailing their shared agenda.
− SAM GRINGLAS, BYLINE: Senate Majority Leader John Thune thought he had a plan.
+ Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly torched Senate Republicans online and imploded their plans without warning as he vents his frustration with Thune for being unable to pass the controversial voting measure.
The dynamic is testing Republican unity across branches of government at a critical time, with the Senate and House majorities on the line this fall in the midterm elections.
And while the president has for years enjoyed unbending loyalty from all but a few GOP lawmakers, the strength of that relationship appears to be fraying as some departing members feel more uninhibited to push back and more members of Congress begin to envision life after Trump.
Retiring Sen.
− Trump wanted a partisan attack dog as acting director of national intelligence.
+ Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who accused Trump of treating the Senate like a manufacturing department for the executive branch rather than its board of directors, said if Trump understood the repercussions of his moves around Pulte and acted anyway, it was a "colossal mistake."
Sen.
− Democrats and some Republicans were appalled by his pick, Bill Pulte, and threatened to hold up renewing a key spy tool until he was yanked. Thune pressed Trump for a more palatable, permanent director so the Senate could confirm him before Pulte took the reins.
+ Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, compared Trump's swerving to a moose startling a pack of sled dogs.
− (SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SPECIAL REPORT WITH BRET BAIER")
JOHN THUNE: The confirmation hearing will happen tomorrow in Intelligence Committee.
+ "If some big distraction like a moose comes through these trees, and you got half the team going over here and half the team going over there, it is chaos," Murkowski explained, using a photo in her office as a visual aid.
− We will take him up as soon as we can.
+ "What that musher has to do is he's got to stop and spend all his time untangling this mess."
Politics They're leaving Congress with nothing to lose, spelling potential trouble for Trump Thune has been trying to untangle a lot of mess lately as Trump tries to strong-arm or sidestep Congress.
− GRINGLAS: That was Thune last Wednesday night on Fox News.
+ For days, top congressional Republicans say they were left in the dark on the text of the memorandum of understanding between the U.S.
− Then, in a 4 a.m.
+ and Iran.
− post, Trump blew up that plan, writing he wouldn't sign legislation to reauthorize the spy tool without the Save America Act, the strict voter ID law he wants. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska compared Trump's swerve to a moose startling a pack of sled dogs.
+ Four Senate Republicans voted with Democrats on Tuesday to advance a war powers resolution directing Trump to pull back forces from the conflict with Iran, which has not been authorized by Congress.
− LISA MURKOWSKI: So if some big distraction like a moose comes through these trees, and you got half the team going over here and half the team going over here, it is chaos.
+ A last-ditch effort by Trump to pass the Save America Act nearly derailed a vote on another of Trump's top priorities, funding for immigration enforcement.
− And then what that musher has to do is he's got to stop and spend all of his time untangling this mess.
+ Trump's support for an "anti-weaponization" fund that could have compensated January 6th rioters resulted in the key spy tool known as FISA 702 lapsing in the first place.
− GRINGLAS: Thune has been untangling a lot of mess lately, as Trump tries to strong-arm or sidestep Congress.
+ President Trump was in France for the G7 summit when he upended plans in the Senate to confirm his pick for director of national intelligence.
− A last-ditch effort by Trump to pass the Save America Act nearly derailed a vote on one of Trump's other top priorities - funding for immigration enforcement.
+ Above, Trump arrives for a dinner at the Chateau de Versailles on June 17.
− And Trump's support for a fund that could have compensated January 6 rioters resulted in that key spy tool lapsing in the first place.
JOHN KENNEDY: He's got two speeds - uninterested and the speed of light.
+ Bastien Ohier/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
"He's got two speeds, uninterested and the speed of light," Sen.
− And on the things that are important to him, he moves at the speed of light.
GRINGLAS: That's Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, who talks to Trump regularly.
+ John Kennedy, R-La., says of Trump, whom he speaks with regularly.
− Thune, though, is often in the position of having to give the president a reality check.
+ "And the things that are important to him, he moves at the speed of light."
Thune, though, often ends up in the position of having to give the president a reality check.
− He's been clear there aren't enough votes to pass the Save America Act - it's failed several times already - or to dismantle the filibuster to muscle it through, as Trump's demanding.
+ The majority leader has been clear that there are not enough votes in the narrowly divided Senate to pass the Save America Act, which has already failed to advance several times.
− Even after this latest clash, Trump wrote that anyone who supports the filibuster is a fool.
+ Nor are there enough votes to dismantle the filibuster to muscle it through, as Trump is demanding.
"It's a function of the math," Thune recently said on Fox News.
− Kennedy says Trump's friction with the majority leader isn't personal.
+ "We've got to deal with the real world."
Even after this latest outcry from Senate Republicans, Trump doubled down, calling out Thune by name on social media and writing that anyone who opposes nixing the filibuster is a "fool."
Politics In symbolic vote, Congress directs Trump to remove forces from Iran war "The White House and President Trump have enjoyed working closely with Leader Thune and Senate Republicans to deliver on many important promises to the American people," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson wrote in a statement.
− KENNEDY: If you don't like John Thune, you don't like golden retrievers.
+ Kennedy says Trump's friction with the majority leader is not personal. "If you don't like John Thune, you don't like golden retrievers," Kennedy said last week.
− GRINGLAS: Most Senate Republicans agree with Thune, except a few like Utah Senator Mike Lee, who says the Save America Act can pass.
+ Most Senate Republicans agree with that sentiment — and with Thune's assessment that the votes just don't exist to do what Trump wants.
− Former GOP Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia says his old pal Thune is just right for this moment.
+ A few exceptions, like Sen.
− Sure, Thune's no hammer, like some of his predecessors, Chambliss says, but he's levelheaded and his defense of the filibuster is about preserving the Senate's consensus-driven nature.
+ Mike Lee, R-Utah, continue to insist the Save America Act can pass and say the public supports many of its provisions, helping fuel Trump's ongoing push to act.
− SAXBY CHAMBLISS: He feels very strongly that the institution of the United States Senate matters.
+ Thune has told reporters that he fears eliminating the filibuster would haunt Republicans the next time Democrats take power again.
− And we get the best pieces of legislation when you have input by Republican and Democrat.
+ Scrapping it would eliminate the 60-vote threshold needed to pass most legislation, gutting a rare point of leverage for the minority in the Senate.
− GRINGLAS: Chambliss says Thune knows the difficult position he's in.
+ Still, Adam Jentleson, a former top aide to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the late Nevada Democrat, says Thune and his predecessors have slowly chipped away at the rule, including passing more major legislation with a simple majority through the party-line budget reconciliation process.
− CHAMBLISS: He used to be a guy who would roll with every punch.
+ Politics Under pressure from President Trump, can the filibuster survive 2026?
− Right now, every time he twitches, I can see anxiety.
+ "What you see is sort of death by a thousand cuts, where both Republicans and Democrats are increasing the number of carve-outs to the filibuster rule," says Jentleson, who wrote a book on the filibuster, Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy.
Former Republican Sen.
− But thank goodness he's there.
+ Saxby Chambliss of Georgia acknowledges Thune is no hammer like Reid or another one of his other predecessors, Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, but says the amiable South Dakotan is just right for this moment.
− GRINGLAS: Trump says without the Save America Act, the Republican Party will never win another election.
+ Bill Pulte speaks with reporters at the White House on Sept.
− But the president himself has complicated his party's majority in 2026 by helping push out incumbents he says haven't been loyal enough.
+ 2, 2025.
− And some Republicans see Trump's fixation on the 2020 election imperiling an agenda that could help Republicans this fall.
+ Trump's decision to nominate Pulte as acting director of national intelligence has frustrated Senate lawmakers, including several Republicans.
− I asked Thune recently if he shares that fear.
+ Mark Schiefelbein/AP hide caption
Chambliss says Thune is a level-headed former college basketball player whose defense of the filibuster is about preserving the Senate's consensus-driven nature.
− THUNE: I think our path to keeping the majority in the Senate is going to be focused on the issues that the American people are most concerned about.
+ "He feels very strongly that the institution of the United States Senate matters," Chambliss says.
− And those tend to be kitchen table, pocketbook issues.
+ "And we get the best pieces of legislation when you have input by Republicans and Democrats."
Chambliss says the former colleagues he regularly speaks with are frustrated by Trump's actions.
− Is my community safe? Is my country safe?
+ He still keeps in touch with Thune and says his old friend recognizes the delicate position he is in.
− GRINGLAS: But is it harder to focus on that now?
+ "He used to be a guy who would roll with every punch," Chambliss says.
− I asked.
+ "Right now, every time he twitches, I can see anxiety.
− I'm doing my best to stay focused, Thune shot back as he disappeared into his office.
+ But thank goodness he's there."
For Trump, a lot rides on the Save America Act.
− Sam Gringlas, NPR News, Washington.
+ He wrote in a recent social media post that without it, "The Republican Party will never win another Election. I will sadly be the last Republican president."
But the president has himself complicated his party's path to holding the majority this fall by helping push out incumbents he says have not been loyal enough, fueling more intraparty tension and pushback.
− (SOUNDBITE OF BUN B AND STATIK SELEKTAH SONG, "SUPERSTARR") Copyright © 2026 NPR.
+ Though Congress this week passed a sweeping bipartisan housing bill, lawmakers have also spent significant time trying to anticipate and react to Trump's moves.
− All rights reserved.
+ Some Republicans have grown frustrated with some of Trump's comments, like saying he doesn't "think about Americans' financial situation."
Some Republicans see Trump's fixation on the 2020 election imperiling an agenda that could help Republicans in 2026.
− Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
+ Asked about that recently, Thune answered indirectly.
"At least as far as I'm concerned, I think our path to keeping the majority in the Senate is going to be focused on the issues that the American people are most concerned about," Thune told reporters last week.
− Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary.
+ "Kitchen table pocketbook issues.
− Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio.
+ Is my community safe, is my country safe?
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+ I think those are going to be paramount."
But is it harder to focus on that now?
"I'm doing my best to stay focused," Thune said as he disappeared into his office off the Senate floor.
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