Senate Republicans Will Try to Tell Trump to Focus on the Midterms

Senate Republicans are likely to outline some “hard realities” for President Donald Trump when he meets with them Wednesday on Capitol Hill after weeks of growing tensions between senators and the White House.

Some Republican senators said they are prepared to give the president some hard truths at lunch, where Trump is expected to demand that lawmakers nix the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster and move a long-shot voter ID bill, known as the Save America Act.

“At the end of the day, I have to deal with reality,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on Tuesday, when asked about calls from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) to pass the bill.

“There are not the votes to nuke the filibuster, and there aren’t going to be 10 Democrat votes to all of a sudden support the Save America Act. It’s just those are just hard realities, and I think people at some point have to come to grips with that,” he said.

Thune, who has been criticized repeatedly by conservatives and Trump in recent days over not moving ahead on either front, played down any talk of a rift with the White House.

“We have very candid conversations,” Thune said. “I am very direct with the president. ... We at times have differences of opinion, but the important thing is on the issues that really matter, we have been united.”

But several Republican senators say they intend to use their first group meeting with the president in months to stress the need for election-year unity and dispute the president’s insistence on passing the bill. While Senate Republicans are favored to hold on to the chamber this fall, a sluggish economy and unpopular war have increased the potential for a Democratic takeover.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) said the president’s focus on the voter ID bill is distracting from what Republicans should be focused on –– passing legislation to tackle Americans’ affordability concerns ahead of the midterms.

“I don’t think it’s helpful,” Tillis said. “Every time we’re having this unproductive discussion, it’s at the expense of a productive conversation that we could be having about addressing things that are going to be helpful for the president, his legacy and for the election.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who lost his bid for a fifth term in May after Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for his seat, also said that he hopes Trump will refocus on the midterm elections.

“The question is, do we want to win the midterms?” Cornyn said of what he plans to ask Trump at Wednesday’s lunch. “My question is how do we get all on the same page and unified instead of squabbling amongst ourselves?”

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), who lost his primary last month after Trump endorsed his opponent, said senators should use the meeting to outline their legislative priorities for the rest of the year.

“We need to be productive in Congress to address the issues important to the American people, and right now affordability is huge,” Cassidy said.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida), who leads the Senate Republican Steering Committee and invited Trump to the lunch, said senators will discuss the SAVE America Act and the appropriations process during the meeting.

“The big issues right now [are], Democrats want to shut down the government on October 1. What’s our plan?” Scott said. “The voters still want the SAVE America Act. What’s our plan?”

Scott’s invitation to Trump without first asking Thune has raised questions about whether the Florida senator is planning to challenge the leader for the top GOP slot next year. Scott has denied he is plotting a run.

The meeting comes as the conference has grown increasingly frustrated with Trump over the past month. Trump blindsided Senate leadership by derailing plans to renew a crucial spy powers tool –– which remains shut down –– and the Senate delayed a vote to fund immigration and customs enforcement over his administration’s controversial “anti-weaponization” fund over a month ago. The president also frustrated many by not endorsing Cornyn and Cassidy.

The Senate on Tuesday also voted to rebuke Trump’s war in Iran, approving a House-passed resolution that would require Trump to seek congressional approval for further military action. Scott said he expects senators to discuss Trump’s deal to end the war with Iran at the meeting, too.

But Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) told NOTUS he doesn’t expect to see senators settle the rift with Trump over the filibuster and the SAVE America Act –– or any of those other issues –– on Wednesday.

“I think the Senate has been very clear about where we’re at,” Curtis said. “I don’t think there’s a lot for us to work out.”