GOP 'privately fuming' at House Republicans for 'dumping crises in their laps': report

Following the recent “revolt” of House Republicans against President Donald Trump and his push to extend a mass surveillance program, GOP Senate leaders are “privately fuming” at their House counterparts for “dumping many crises in their laps,” Punchbowl News reported Tuesday.

Beyond House Republicans’ rejection of Trump’s push to extend the mass surveillance program, the House GOP also rejected a plan approved by Senate Republicans to partially fund the Department of Homeland Security amid the ongoing partial government shutdown, another instance that frustrated Senate GOP leadership.

The now-frequent rifts between House and Senate Republicans, Punchbowl News’ Max Cohen and John Bresnahan wrote, “have made clear that there’s only one functional chamber on Capitol Hill right now – the Senate – and it’s barely so.”

“This is putting a ton of new pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), whose majority is suddenly at risk. President Donald Trump’s sagging approval ratings and the GOP’s inability to notch legislative wins due to constant infighting are a burden too,” they wrote in Punchbowl News’ morning newsletter.

“Plus, Thune is dealing with a MAGA onslaught over the SAVE America Act, a relentless push to gut the filibuster and an Iranian war that’s exacerbating affordability concerns while providing Democrats with new political ammo.”

Speaking with Punchbowl News Monday, Thune suggested that limitations placed on both chambers were at the core of the rifts and disagreements between House and Senate Republicans.

“They’ve got their limitations, and so do we,” Thune told Punchbowl News. “So we’ve just got to figure it out.”

On the SAVE Act, the voting requirements bill backed by Trump, one Republican senator told Punchbowl News that Thune had been carrying on a “charade” to placate far-right senators even as the bill faces obstacles in both chambers.

“John is playing footsie with MAGA on the SAVE Act. Nothing he does will ever satisfy them,” said the GOP senator, speaking with Punchbowl News on the condition of anonymity. “Why are we carrying on with this charade?”