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Trump Has Turned John Thune’s Job into a Total Nightmare

June 17, 2026 · 3:40 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“When Senate Republicans chose a new majority leader in 2024, South Dakota senator John Thune narrowly defeated Texas senator John Cornyn. Since then, Cornyn’s career has taken a turn for the worse, culminating in his shocking landslide defeat in last month’s Texas GOP primary runoff,” New York Magazine reports.

“But in retrosepct, Cornyn might have been the lucky one. Yes, the Texan had to suffer the humiliation of Donald Trump endorsing his opponent, Ken Paxton, even after he all but crawled on his knees to Mar-a-Lago to show his loyalty to the president. But it turns out Trump had a different hell in mind for Thune, as he has perpetually thwarted his efforts to manage the U.S. Senate.”

Semafor: Trump and Thune’s dynamic turns the Senate “very chaotic.”

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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