GLOVES OFF: Fed-Up Trump Drops HAMMER On Thune Over SAVE Act
Five words. That’s all Trump needed to signal that the Senate Majority Leader’s position is no longer secure.
“We’re going to find out.”
Townhall’s Cameron Arcand asked Trump directly in the Oval Office on Wednesday whether Thune is still the man for the job. Trump didn’t say yes. He didn’t reassure. He looked at the camera and said “we’re going to find out, and I’ll let you know” — the presidential equivalent of a performance review where the boss isn’t committing to keeping you on.
Thune’s response, when told what Trump said, was physically painful to watch. He winced. He said “alright, well, that’s nice of him, I guess. I don’t know, what do you say on that.” He noted that it’s a decision made by his colleagues — which is technically true and practically useless as an answer. That’s the response of a man who just found out his job security depends on doing something he hasn’t done yet.
Two days earlier, Trump had been more measured aboard Air Force One — “he’s got to get his job done, it’s fine, I have a good relationship with John Thune” — but pointedly added “he’s got to get his job done” twice in the same breath. And when asked if he’d thought about replacing him, said “I haven’t even thought of it.” That’s not a ringing endorsement. That’s a 48-hour grace period dressed in diplomatic language.
Here’s the blunt reality that Thune’s press conference answers confirmed: he doesn’t have the votes. Not for the SAVE America Act through the filibuster — he needs 10 Democrats who don’t exist. Not for the filibuster elimination — he claims he doesn’t have 50 Republican votes, in a 53-seat majority. Not for reconciliation, where he says 50 votes are “probably not there.”
“What is the end game?” Thune asked. It’s a legitimate question. Here’s the answer: pass the budget resolution, move reconciliation forward, embed the election integrity provisions that survive the Byrd Rule, and get something across the finish line before August 10. That’s the end game. The House has done its part three times. The president came to Capitol Hill personally. Seven senators have vowed to block recess adjournment. The American people support this legislation by 83%.
The only variable left is whether John Thune can find the will to act or continues finding reasons why he can’t.
“We’re going to find out” is not a threat Trump makes idly. He endorsed Ken Paxton over John Cornyn. He spent months publicly pressuring Thune on Truth Social. He told senators personally at the White House to get it done. And now he’s declined to endorse his own Majority Leader when asked a direct question about it.
Thune winced. That wince is the whole story.
Get the job done, Senator. The clock is running out on more than just the legislation.
Trump accuses Jeanine Pirro of ‘folding’ by dropping reflecting pool charges
Trump ‘disappointed’ with US attorney amid reports he’s considering removing her from her post
Donald Trump accused US attorney Jeanine Pirro of having “folded like an umbrella” amid reports that he was considering removing her from her post.
Trump criticized Pirro on Monday after she dropped vandalism charges against a former Olympian accused of damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. Trump nominated Pirro to serve as interim US attorney for the District of Columbia last year, and the Senate later confirmed her in August.
Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office, Trump said: “Frankly, I think she choked because the judge was really vicious. Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department, and I guess she choked,” appearing to refer to DC superior court judge Todd Edelman, who is overseeing the vandalism case.
He added: “I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro, really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro. She folded like an umbrella.”
Trump refused to answer a follow-up question from a reporter on whether he is reconsidering her role, instead saying: “You’re fake news. Don’t ever talk again.”
Last Friday, the justice department dismissed the criminal case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, one of seven people charged in connection with what Trump claimed were attempts to vandalize the $15m renovation of the reflecting pool.
Hearn had faced a felony property destruction charge that carried a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $1,000 fine. He pleaded not guilty last month.
According to the justice department last week, the damage to the pool liner came as “the result of flawed installation by the contractor”.
Pirro said her office received documents from the interior department only “after the return of the indictment” that showed the pool was already damaged before Hearn touched the water on 19 June.
A motion by government lawyers said that documents “indicated a rushed and flawed installation process, with repeated failures of the lining during the installation process, and extensive peeling of the lining throughout the reflecting pool”.
Pirro’s office said “it was not until after these documents were produced” that it “first became aware of information showing that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented by [the interior department].”
Trump’s public attacks against Pirro on Monday follows his Truth Social post over the weekend in which he said: “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM.”
Speaking to CNN, one person familiar with the matter said that Trump is “furious” with Pirro and that they think it is “highly likely she’s removed from her job”.
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Meanwhile, one senior administration official told the outlet that Trump was “blindsided” by Pirro’s decision, adding: “The president did not know beforehand that she was going to do that.”
The Guardian has reached out to the White House and the justice department for comment.
