Senate Majority Leader John Thune is warning Democrats that Republicans will not quietly watch them dismantle conservative policies after their sweeping midterm victories. With Democrats securing significant majorities in both chambers of Congress, the battle over President Donald Trump’s agenda is already taking shape.
“Thankfully, we still have President [Donald] Trump in the White House, and we’ll work with him to stop the worst impulses of Democrat extremism,” Thune wrote Wednesday on X. “We cannot let their fringe positions become the mainstream.”
The South Dakota Republican defended his party’s record, arguing that Republicans had delivered meaningful results despite facing persistent Democratic opposition.
Thune said the GOP had created safer communities, put more money in Americans’ pockets, and expanded opportunities for families and businesses. He also highlighted several accomplishments, including preventing what he described as the largest tax increase in American history, strengthening border security, confirming Trump’s Cabinet at the fastest pace in two decades, and advancing conservative judicial nominees at a rate not seen since the Reagan administration.
But not everyone on the right believes Republicans made sufficient use of their time in power.
Conservative historian and writer Victor Davis Hanson offered a much harsher assessment during an interview with The Epoch Times. Hanson argued that congressional Republicans accomplished relatively little over the past two years, including on judicial confirmations.
He pointed to the failure to pass the SAVE America Act, which includes key voter identification provisions, and the party’s inability to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.
“Even the judicial nominations were pretty slow,” Hanson said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered a similar critique in a Wednesday interview with Fox News, arguing that Republicans failed to turn Trump’s executive actions into lasting legislation.
“Why haven’t we done immigration, shut off H-1B visas? Why haven’t we codified Trump’s immigration executive orders? Why haven’t we stripped jurisdiction from the federal courts over deportation cases?” DeSantis asked. “There’s so many things that could have been done. They didn’t even attempt it.”
Those criticisms expose an uncomfortable reality for Republican leadership. Having control of Congress and the White House was supposed to provide an opportunity to advance Trump's agenda, yet several major conservative priorities remained unfinished. Now, with Democrats preparing to take control of both chambers, Republicans face the prospect of defending an agenda they failed to fully secure through legislation.
Democratic leaders are already signaling their priorities. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who is expected to become majority leader when the next Congress convenes, said Democrats would “fight to make life affordable again.”
But affordability may not be the only issue occupying the incoming majority. Some Democrats have also signaled an appetite for aggressive congressional investigations targeting the Trump administration and its allies.
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon offered a particularly brief preview of that approach in a post on X following the election. His entire message consisted of one word:
“Subpoenas.”
The coming congressional session could therefore become a prolonged battle over investigations, executive authority, immigration enforcement, and the future of Trump's legislative priorities.
Thune’s warning that Republicans will not “stand idly by” sets the tone for the opposition they intend to mount. But the GOP also has a problem of its own: voters who supported a conservative agenda will want more than statements about stopping Democrats. They will want to know why Republicans failed to deliver more when they had the opportunity.
Democrats may now have the power to reverse Republican policies, but the GOP cannot afford to spend another two years explaining what it failed to accomplish. Defending Trump's agenda will require more than resistance. It will require a clear strategy, political discipline, and a willingness to fight for the promises that brought Republicans to power.
