Senate conservatives press to delay Thune's leader vote, demand lame-duck agenda

Senate Republican conservatives are pushing to delay Tuesday's election for party leader. They are also demanding that Sen. John Thune of South Dakota commit to a busy lame-duck agenda if he wants another term ¹. The lame-duck session is the stretch after the election and before the new Congress takes office. Thune is running unopposed ².

The push is led by Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah and Rick Scott of Florida. They want time for "a robust discussion" about what went wrong in last week's election ¹. Johnson has circulated a letter asking for a delay in the closed-door, secret-ballot vote ².

On tapeWHAS11 · Nov 10

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We need to have some real soul-searching

Republicans lost at least seven Senate seats and their majority in the midterms. Two more races, in Alaska and Mississippi, remain uncalled ². Lee argued senators should judge leaders by how they run the Senate over the next few weeks, while Republicans still hold the majority ¹.

What the conservatives want

Johnson and others want a third budget reconciliation bill. It would fund the Pentagon and meet the White House's June request for emergency money to rebuild weapons stockpiles drained by the Iran war ¹. Reconciliation is a budget process that would let Republicans get around a Democratic filibuster ¹.

From Channel GOPMike Johnson says polls were wildly inaccurateMike Johnson · 270 plays · captioned, with the source named

Some also want one more try at the SAVE America Act. It would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID to cast a ballot. The bill has already failed to advance this year ¹. Scott called on every candidate for a leadership job to commit to passing it ¹.

Every candidate for a leadership job must commit to passing it. Failure is not an option

Conservatives also want the weeklong Thanksgiving recess canceled so senators stay in Washington ¹.

On tapeWUSA9 · Nov 9

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Thune's answer

Thune said Monday he would hear out the arguments for a delay but did not see the point. "I don’t know that that solves anything," he said ¹. Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota, a close ally, predicted the vote would go ahead as scheduled ¹.

Thune says his priority is "getting the judges across the finish line." Republicans expect to need to confirm 19 district court nominees and 4 appeals court nominees, plus more than 100 executive branch nominees, before Democrats take over ¹. The new Congress begins Jan. 3 ².

He also warned that a long fight over the SAVE America Act or another budget resolution could crowd out other Trump priorities. He said he is open to a third reconciliation bill but questioned whether the votes are there ¹. Several Republicans on the Appropriations Committee oppose funding the Defense Department that way ¹.

Why it matters

That matters because Congress must still pass a short-term funding deal by Dec. 11 to avoid another government shutdown ¹. Every week spent on a party fight or a long-shot bill is a week not spent on that deadline.

The pressure comes days after Trump lashed out at the Senate for "getting nothing passed" ¹. Trump said Monday that Thune is a very fine man and that the election is up to the Senate ².

Democrats are also sorting out their own leadership. They could hold as many as 56 Senate seats next year, and some are privately discussing whether Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York should keep leading them ².

The Record

1. Nov 8, 2026Sen. Rick Scott says every Senate GOP leadership candidate must commit to passing the SAVE America Act in the lame duck ¹.
2. Nov 9, 2026Thune tells reporters he is open to hearing arguments for a delay but doubts it solves anything ¹.
3. Nov 10, 2026Senate Republicans meet to vote on leadership, with Thune unopposed ².
4. Dec 11, 2026Deadline for a short-term government funding deal to avoid another shutdown ¹.

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<h2>Senate conservatives press to delay Thune&#39;s leader vote, demand lame-duck agenda</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Capitol Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/senate-conservatives-press-to-delay-thune-s-leader-vote-demand-lame-duck-agenda">The GOP Files</a> on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.</em></p> <p>Senate Republican conservatives are pushing to delay Tuesday&#39;s election for party leader. They are also demanding that Sen. John Thune of South Dakota commit to a busy lame-duck agenda if he wants another term . The lame-duck session is the stretch after the election and before the new Congress takes office. Thune is running unopposed .</p> <p>The push is led by Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah and Rick Scott of Florida. They want time for &quot;a robust discussion&quot; about what went wrong in last week&#39;s election . Johnson has circulated a letter asking for a delay in the closed-door, secret-ballot vote .</p> <blockquote><p>We need to have some real soul-searching</p><p>&mdash; Ron Johnson, U.S. senator, R-Wisconsin</p></blockquote> <p>Republicans lost at least seven Senate seats and their majority in the midterms. Two more races, in Alaska and Mississippi, remain uncalled . Lee argued senators should judge leaders by how they run the Senate over the next few weeks, while Republicans still hold the majority .</p> <h2>What the conservatives want</h2> <p>Johnson and others want a third budget reconciliation bill. It would fund the Pentagon and meet the White House&#39;s June request for emergency money to rebuild weapons stockpiles drained by the Iran war . Reconciliation is a budget process that would let Republicans get around a Democratic filibuster .</p> <p>Some also want one more try at the SAVE America Act. It would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID to cast a ballot. The bill has already failed to advance this year . Scott called on every candidate for a leadership job to commit to passing it .</p> <blockquote><p>Every candidate for a leadership job must commit to passing it. Failure is not an option</p><p>&mdash; Rick Scott, U.S. senator, R-Florida, chair of the Senate Steering Committee</p></blockquote> <p>Conservatives also want the weeklong Thanksgiving recess canceled so senators stay in Washington .</p> <h2>Thune&#39;s answer</h2> <p>Thune said Monday he would hear out the arguments for a delay but did not see the point. &quot;I don’t know that that solves anything,&quot; he said . Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota, a close ally, predicted the vote would go ahead as scheduled .</p> <p>Thune says his priority is &quot;getting the judges across the finish line.&quot; Republicans expect to need to confirm 19 district court nominees and 4 appeals court nominees, plus more than 100 executive branch nominees, before Democrats take over . The new Congress begins Jan. 3 .</p> <p>He also warned that a long fight over the SAVE America Act or another budget resolution could crowd out other Trump priorities. He said he is open to a third reconciliation bill but questioned whether the votes are there . Several Republicans on the Appropriations Committee oppose funding the Defense Department that way .</p> <h2>Why it matters</h2> <p>That matters because Congress must still pass a short-term funding deal by Dec. 11 to avoid another government shutdown . Every week spent on a party fight or a long-shot bill is a week not spent on that deadline.</p> <p>The pressure comes days after Trump lashed out at the Senate for &quot;getting nothing passed&quot; . Trump said Monday that Thune is a very fine man and that the election is up to the Senate .</p> <p>Democrats are also sorting out their own leadership. They could hold as many as 56 Senate seats next year, and some are privately discussing whether Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York should keep leading them .</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/senate-conservatives-press-to-delay-thune-s-leader-vote-demand-lame-duck-agenda">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/senate-conservatives-press-to-delay-thune-s-leader-vote-demand-lame-duck-agenda.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. The Hill, “John Thune’s leadership bid collides with conservative demands for lame-duck agenda” (2026-11-10). thehill.com/homenews/senate/6209315-senate-leaders-election-
2. ABC News, “John Thune seeks another term as Senate Republican leader as the party reckons with election losses” (2026-11-10). abcnews.com/Politics/wireStory/john-thune-seeks-term-senate-

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