Some Republican senators want former President Donald Trump to play a role in electing the next Senate Republican leader, hoping for a change after Sen. Mitch McConnell’s 18-year run. 

While Republican Sens. John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas are eyeing the position, Trump could throw his political weight behind another candidate like Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., or Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont.

“If Republicans win the majority in the Senate and if Trump wins the White House, I think it’s going to be very important for whoever our next Republican leader is to work closely with President Trump and his team,” said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. Read Full Story

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Former President Donald Trump on Monday said he would be in favor of Congress returning early from recess to pass additional aid following Hurricane Helene. 

“I would be in favor of it, yeah. This is a very unusual situation,” Trump told reporters in Asheville, North Carolina, where he toured storm damage. 

“In theory [FEMA is] supposed to have it, but they spent a lot of money on bringing illegal migrants, people that came into our country illegally, and taking them in,” Trump said, calling the agency’s response to the storm damage “a disgrace.” 

Congress left in September for recess, and the House and Senate aren’t expected to return until Nov. 12. Read Full Story

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Senate Republicans are pumping the brakes on a year-end omnibus spending package after previously thinking they would be able to squeeze House Speaker Mike Johnson into bringing a trillion-dollar package to the House floor if it was paired with federal disaster relief. 

But the appetite among Senate Republicans for jamming Johnson with a huge spending bill is fading. One Senate Republican source said that “the bandwidth is not there,” but cautioned that political conditions could change depending on the presidential election’s outcome. Read Full Story

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