Senate Republicans Revolt Against Their Own Leaders

Nov 09, 2026 ·
Senate Republicans Revolt Against Their Own Leaders

A bloc of Senate Republicans led by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is pushing to postpone Tuesday's GOP leadership elections, arguing that the conference needs time to examine its midterm election losses before it picks the leaders who will guide it in the minority.

Sen. Ron Johnson and Sen. Rick Scott. (Finn Gomez/Getty Images)

Democrats won control of the Senate with 54 seats, and that total could climb depending on the outcomes of the races in Mississippi and Alaska. Republicans expect Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to seek another term as the chamber's top Republican when the conference votes Tuesday morning.

Johnson made his case in a letter to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who chairs the Senate Republican Conference, according to a copy Fox News Digital obtained. He asked that the election wait "until we all have a chance to hear from leadership candidates as to what type of collaborative conference governing model we should adopt and what our strategy will be to counter the emboldened Democrats."

"Tuesday's result was a stunning defeat, and there are multiple reasons for it," Johnson wrote. "We need to have serious discussions within our conference as to what we can do to improve the outcome in 2028."

He also said in the letter that the conference owed itself a full debate over how each candidate intends to run the conference.

"Holding leadership elections without engaging in a robust discussion and evaluation of how those running for leadership intend to lead would be political malpractice," Johnson wrote. "It is certainly not the way leadership elections should be conducted in the world's greatest deliberative body."

Under Senate GOP rules, the conference can take up a delay if the request carries five signatures. Johnson secured the names he needed from Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), John Kennedy (R-LA), Ted Budd (R-NC), and Mike Lee (R-UT).

Lee announced his support on X.

Two other Republicans, Sens. David McCormick (R-PA) and Jim Banks (R-IN), did not add their names to the letter. Both also want the conference to pause before it votes on leadership.

"Our conference needs to sit down and have a frank discussion about where we fell short, what we stand for, and what we're going to do for the working families who sent us here," Banks said in a statement.

Republican leadership had already scheduled a conference meeting ahead of the elections. A GOP aide told Fox News Digital that Thune owes part of his standing among colleagues to his willingness to take feedback from lawmakers rather than "rule with an iron fist."

Thune remains popular in the conference and faces no declared challenger even though some conservative figures outside the Senate have called on him to step aside. It remains unclear whether the effort to slow the vote will change who leads Senate Republicans. Several potential rivals, including Scott, have said they will not run against him.

Sen. Rick Scott addressed the question during an appearance on Fox News' Saturday in America.

"I don't want to run again. I've run twice," he said.

Asked whether he would back Thune, Scott did not commit.

"We'll see what happens. We'll see who else is going to run. I don't know if somebody else is going to run," he said.

Democratic leaders face unrest of their own. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are both contending with resistance inside their ranks as their party prepares to take the majority.

Jeffries is dealing with grassroots backlash from the activist left over his bid for speaker, even after Democrats won large House majorities in last Tuesday's election. Axios reported on Friday that a wave of calls and emails is pressing House Democrats and members-elect to keep the gavel from Jeffries, citing more than a dozen lawmakers and aides. The outlet also reported that the caucus remains almost certain to back him.

One incoming House Democrat said the office was "getting inundated," with "about 150" calls since the election asking for a vote against Jeffries. A senior House Democrat reported "over 500" calls in two days, and constituents raised the issue in person at a Chamber of Commerce meeting in that member's district.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, several newly elected Democrats have declined to commit to supporting Schumer for majority leader, though he has led the caucus since 2017. Senators-elect Adam Hamilton (D-KS), Troy Jackson (D-ME), Juliana Stratton (D-IL), Abdul El-Sayed (D-MI), and Peggy Flanagan (D-MN) have all voiced disapproval of him, and some pledged during their campaigns never to support him.

Senate Republicans plan to vote on their leaders Tuesday morning unless the conference grants Johnson's request for a delay.

Tyler Durden