As the nation gears up for a second Donald Trump administration, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) is anticipating some pushback against the president-elect from "RINOs" among his Senate colleagues.
The Republicans won a decisive victory on Election Day. Even though votes are still coming in from some states, it's clear the GOP also won a majority in the Senate, and a House majority looks likely.
Senate Republicans immediately began deliberating on who would take the majority leader role, which quickly narrowed down to three candidates: U.S. Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), John Thune (R-S.D.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas).
Although the GOP rallied around Trump after securing the nomination, questions still loom over how the majority Senate will carry the president's agenda as lawmakers move into the next presidency.
On a recent appearance on Talk 93.1, "News and Views," with Joey Clark, Tuberville somewhat snidely commented on Trump's level of support in the Senate. He claimed nearly no one in the body backed Trump when he first announced his candidacy while remarking that his ultimate victory would likely get the majority of GOP senators to fall in line.
"There was hardly any onboard seven [or] eight months ago because they all think they know everything," Tuberville said. "You know, I was the first one to come out as soon as he came out and said he was going to run; I was all for him. And people looked at me like I was nuts. [They] said, 'He can't win this election.' I said, 'Well, if he don't, he's our only chance to beat the Democrats.'"
With the potential of GOP pushback in the Senate, Tuberville said it will ultimately be up to Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance to lead the Senate. Although Tuberville recently endorsed Scott for majority leader, he ultimately downplayed the role as merely ceremonial to push the president's agenda.
"[A] lot of them have fallen [Trump's] way, but when push comes to shove, he's going to have to be the leader of the Senate, him and J.D. Vance," Tuberville said. "J.D. knows everybody over there. He knows the friends and foes of the United States Senate, and President Trump's not going to mince any words. He's fixing to come after everybody, and he should."
He continued, "It's going to be a fight within ourselves in the Republican side, and at the end of the day, President Trump is going to win out, I don't care what they say. You know, everybody wants to ask me about leader. I could care less about the leader of the Senate. The leader of the Senate is just somebody that steps out there and tells the media what we're thinking about or thinking about doing."
"J.D. Vance is our president of the Senate, being our vice president. And then you've got Trump; his agenda is what we're going to push, and some of these RINOs [Republicans In Name Only] better get the heck out of the way."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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