Kennedy Tells GOP Colleagues Not Trying ‘Is How We Got Beat,’ as Thune Says He Kept His Job ‘Because Nobody Else Wants It’

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) is telling fellow Senate Republicans that giving up on another party-line bill before Democrats take over the chamber is exactly what cost them the midterms.

“Some of my colleagues think because we don’t have the votes for another reconciliation bill, we shouldn’t try. I think that’s how we got beat. The American people want us to try,” Kennedy wrote in a post on X Saturday evening with a video clip. The post drew more than 11,000 likes and about 124,000 views by Sunday morning.

Kennedy laid out his list a day earlier. “Republicans have 50+ days to finish the job. Pass reconciliation. Pass the Save Act. Fight inflation. Crack down on fraud. Lower housing costs. Ban congressional stock trading. Strengthen our military,” he wrote Friday. “Doing nothing is hard. You never know when you’re finished.”

‘Nobody Else Wants It’

Kennedy’s push comes as Senate Republicans pick through the wreckage of an election that will hand Democrats the majority in January. In a closed-door meeting that ran for hours, Republicans kept Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and most of his leadership team by acclamation, with no senator objecting, Fox News Digital reported.

“I got the job because nobody else wants it,” Thune told the outlet afterward.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who led the push to delay the leadership vote, had some “testy” exchanges with Thune, according to the report. Johnson admitted he was “prone to interrupting, I’m rude that way,” but said there was no “animus.” He said the meeting “pretty well revealed we’re just lucky to have anybody who wants those jobs.”

Thune said he wanted to defend the conference’s record against “a lot of blame casting.” “The operative question is, tell me what you would do differently? Both on the political side and the legislative side,” he said.

‘It Is What It Is’

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he expected more emotion. “Now it’s not like you’re looking for the silver lining,” he told Fox News Digital. “It doesn’t exist. It is what it is, and you’ve got to react.”

Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) put the losses in historical terms. “Obama lost nine Senate seats in 2014, it looks like we’re going to lose eight, depending on what happens in Alaska,” he said.

Republicans agreed during the meeting on a plan for the remaining weeks of the year, Fox reported, though senators later sparred over who could claim credit for the GOP’s 54-day blitz. Trump has already told the Senate to “IMMEDIATELY” move a $350 billion military bill, as CDN reported.

Content created by Conservative Daily News and some content syndicated through CDN is available for re-publication without charge under the Creative Commons license. Visit our syndication page for details and requirements.