When Mitch McConnell stepped down as Senate Republican leader in November 2024, the MAGA movement had one clear demand: no more. No more establishment gatekeepers. No more institutionalists who mouth support for Trump while quietly protecting the Washington power structure he was elected to dismantle. Elon Musk backed Rick Scott for the leadership spot. The base was clear about what it wanted.
The Senate Republican caucus elected John Thune anyway.
McConnell’s response was immediate and revealing. He called Thune’s election a “clear endorsement of a consummate leader” and said “the confidence our colleagues have placed in John’s legislative experience and political skill is well deserved.” TIME magazine’s headline the same day: “Senate Republicans Pick Most Anti-MAGA Option as Next Leader.” The New Republic: “Senate Republicans Reject MAGA for Mitch McConnell Ally.”
Fifteen months into Thune’s tenure, the receipts are in. The man McConnell blessed is governing like the man McConnell was.
The examples are not isolated. They form a consistent pattern of a Senate Majority Leader who positions himself as a Trump ally in public while quietly killing or blocking Trump’s priorities behind closed doors.
Start with the SAVE Act — Trump’s top legislative priority, requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. Trump demanded Thune force a talking filibuster to move it forward. Thune flatly refused: “The votes aren’t there for a talking filibuster.” Trump threatened he would not sign any other legislation until the SAVE Act passes. Thune did not budge. When the MAGA grassroots organized a pressure campaign to hold him accountable, Thune dismissed it with a phrase that tells you everything about how he sees his own voters: he called it a “paid influencer ecosystem.” Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Keith Self of Texas, accused Thune of “gaslighting conservatives.” Gateway Pundit called him out by name, writing that Thune “is working overtime to see that Trump loses midterms and that the SAVE Act is never passed.”
Then there are Trump’s judicial nominees. Trump has been trying to fill the federal bench with America First judges. The “blue slip” tradition — a procedural courtesy that allows home-state Democratic senators to effectively veto district court nominees and U.S. attorneys — is the mechanism Democrats use to block them. Trump demanded Thune eliminate it. Thune refused, telling reporters that “way more Republican senators” want to preserve the blue slip process and that there is “no strong interest” in ending it. Trump publicly pressured Thune to “get something done” on stalled nominees. Nominees continued to stall.
Thune also opposed Trump’s call to nationalize elections, citing constitutional concerns in terms that sounded indistinguishable from the Democratic talking points on the same question. Fox News headline: “Thune Rejects Trump’s Call to Nationalize Elections.” Add his quiet skepticism about Trump’s tariff policy — anathema to the America First economic agenda — and you have a Senate leader who has found a way to cross Trump on trade, elections, judiciary, and legislation while maintaining the fiction of loyalty.
Trump saw this coming. In 2022 — two years before Thune was handed the majority leadership — Trump actively recruited Kristi Noem to primary him out of office. The Senate establishment closed ranks around Thune and he survived. That same establishment elected him leader the moment McConnell vacated the seat.
This week added a new entry to the list — and it may be the most revealing one.
When the Iran war began and the Strait of Hormuz was threatened, Trump made a direct request: allies who benefit from the free flow of energy through that waterway should send ships to help secure it. Japan imports nearly 90% of its oil through the Strait. South Korea depends on the same route for 70% of its energy. The United Kingdom, Australia, France — all benefit directly from American military operations maintaining the passage that keeps the global economy functioning.
Every one of them said no.
Japan’s Prime Minister said Japan “does not plan to dispatch naval vessels” and suggested the mission might not pass Japanese legal muster. The UK said it was “looking at options” but officials warned sending ships “would make the volatile situation worse.” South Korea said it was “closely monitoring.” Australia declined. European leaders broadly rebuffed the request. The allies for whom American servicemembers are currently fighting and dying in the Persian Gulf looked at the bill and decided not to pay it.
Trump called out the freeloading directly and expressed exactly the frustration every American taxpayer should feel: if our allies won’t stand with us when it costs them something, what exactly are we getting from these alliances?
John Thune’s response was to defend NATO. On the day this newsletter publishes, Thune told reporters that he does not think Trump “can make that kind of a decision unilaterally” regarding NATO withdrawal and called the alliance “probably the most effective alliance in history.” He added that Congress is “definitely going to want to be heard from” on any withdrawal decision.
The allies who left American sailors to secure the Strait alone could not have written a better response themselves.
The establishment Republican project since January 2025 has been to smile for the cameras, vote for the easy wins, and quietly protect the institutions and arrangements that the America First movement was built to reform. John Thune is that project with a Senate majority leader’s title.
McConnell did not leave Washington. He left a proxy.
The MAGA base that wanted Rick Scott knew what it was looking at. So did Mitch McConnell when he issued his glowing endorsement. The only question is how long the Senate Republican caucus — and the voters who sent them there — are willing to call that arrangement acceptable.
