Senate Republicans are openly feuding over legislative strategy, funding disputes, and a controversial hemp provision, with Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) warning that the chamber is headed for a "train wreck" as the August recess approaches.
At a closed-door GOP lunch on Wednesday, Budget Committee Chair Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) pushed for a quick vote on a budget resolution to fast-track a third reconciliation package before the break. But Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), facing a tough reelection, argued that launching a floor debate and a lengthy amendment vote-a-rama would be politically risky, according to senators who attended.
Johnson countered that as many as 10 or 11 committees could receive reconciliation instructions, potentially making a flood of amendments germane and subject to simple-majority passage. One GOP senator, speaking anonymously, said Collins highlighted the danger: "Can you imagine how many amendments that would be?"—including votes on restricting ICE or permanently banning the $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund.
Several other Republicans backed Collins, preferring to fund the Pentagon and struggling farmers through regular appropriations. Collins declined to comment, saying only, "I'm not going to discuss what happened at lunch." Johnson, however, insisted he's "still working" to advance the budget resolution before recess.
Thune acknowledged that moving another budget resolution would drag "a bunch" of committees into the process, opening the floor to contentious votes. Asked if he had the votes to proceed, he replied, "Probably hard to say."
The infighting extends beyond budget tactics. GOP senators clashed with White House legislative staff over language in a continuing resolution (CR) that would delay enforcement of a ban on hemp-derived THC products like delta-8 until December. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) accused colleagues of overreacting, saying, "These busy bodies in there that want to ban everything are jumping up and down. It's like they watched Reefer Madness in 1937."
But Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) is pushing to strip the provision, posting on X that he will "not back down" until the "life-threatening hemp loophole is closed permanently." Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) signaled support for Budd's amendment, with Rounds saying, "I'd rather have the fight now than during the holidays."
Thune also faces a Republican rift over the Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan bill by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) to overhaul college athlete compensation. The measure has divided GOP senators over how to regulate name, image, and likeness deals.
The internal battles come as Thune navigates a packed agenda, including a stopgap funding bill and a potential fight over the Blanche nomination, as reported earlier. The discord echoes broader GOP tensions, with some warning the party has lost its way ahead of the midterms.
