Donald Trump’s MAGA allies are racing to put down the last vestiges of Republican resistance to him in the Senate.
Following her initial hesitance toward Pete Hegseth, Trump’s embattled Defense Secretary pick, Sen. Joni Ernst came in for a raft of criticism from Republicans in her home state of Iowa. Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of four remaining senators who voted to impeach Trump in 2021, just drew a formal primary challenge. And moderate Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) are already starting to catch some heat from party activists.
Among Trump’s MAGA faithful, the hunt for what they derisively describe as RINOs — Republicans-In-Name-Only — is in full swing.
“The pressure valve is now pointed in the direction of the Senate,” said Steve Deace, an Iowa-based radio talk show host who is considering challenging Ernst. “The tea party was not nearly as organized as the Trump movement is.”
Despite Republicans winning united control of Washington, the nomination process has been marked with Republican infighting and purity tests. That’s in part because of Trump’s unorthodox picks, including Kash Patel for FBI director and Tulsi Gabbard for intel chief, who have tested the willingness of the Senate to indulge Trump.
Now, Trump’s allies are fighting back in Washington and in the states. Ernst, a member of the Armed Services committee, was the first put under the spotlight. But Trump acolytes are closely watching others for signs of disloyalty — especially if they are up for reelection in 2026, such as Collins and Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
MAGA activist Charlie Kirk issued a warning to Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) for simply saying he had no complaints against the current FBI director that Trump wants to oust. Billionaire Elon Musk piled on, writing that “those who oppose reform will lose their primary/election.” And Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) openly suggested that colleagues opposing Trump may not belong in the Senate.
Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski vowed: “There will be no resource that we won’t” use to target senators who stymie Trump’s nominations.
Any Senate bloodletting won’t be easy. Much of the current MAGA-fication of the chamber has come through retirements. No elected incumbent senator has lost a primary challenge since 2012. And some senators bristle at the threats and say the prospect of political consequences alone may not produce the desired results.
“I don’t think it makes more loyal senators out of people. Senators are not slouches. I don’t know many wimpy senators,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), who had previously raised concerns about Hegseth’s drinking. “We got elected, too. And in a case like Susan Collins, she wins overwhelmingly in a state that Donald Trump doesn’t carry. You know, how do you not give her that room?”
But Trump’s allies aren’t letting up on Republicans they view as disobedient. In addition to trolling Ernst on social media, they recruited Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird to write an op-ed about why senators should back Trump’s nominees — a name that may seem obscure to some people but wasn’t for those familiar with Iowa politics. Bird, unlike Ernst, backed Trump through the primary process — and Trump allies were eager to send a not-so-veiled threat that they’d run Bird against her in 2026 if she didn’t get in line.
The goal of it all wasn’t just to get Ernst to comply, but to make an example of her to other senators so they think twice about sinking Trump’s nominees.
Ernst may have gotten the message. An Army National Guard veteran and survivor of sexual assault, she first signaled that she had serious concerns about Hegseth, who is facing sexual assault allegations and has opposed women in combat. But days later, she struck a different note, vowing to “support” him through the process and calling their meeting “encouraging.”
She also posted her support of Patel and a photo with Gabbard.
“Republicans should understand Trump also has a much more professional political operation around him, and that Trump himself, I think, is a lot more willing to use his own political power this time,” said one longtime Trumpworld adviser, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “In his first term, he was new to politics, and I think he was a lot more deferential to people in the Senate, and I don’t think that’s going to be the case this time around.”
Hegseth will still have to convince the rest of the GOP conference, including moderates like Collins and Murkowski.
Murkowski was reelected in 2022 despite voting to impeach Trump thanks in part to her state’s ranked-choice, all-party primary system. Collins will face the voters in 2026. Rejecting Trump’s nominees would not hurt her in a general election in a blue state — something that insulates Collins from some political coercion.
“The possibility of a primary challenge will not influence my carrying out my constitutional duties,” Collins said about the pressure tactics. “I get criticism from the far right and the far left all the time — it’s not new.”
After Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) retires, Murkowski, Collins and Cassidy will be the three remaining senators who voted to impeach Trump.
Cassidy did so in early 2021 when Trump had been voted out of office. Four years later, Louisiana state Treasurer John Fleming, a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, launched a bid against him.
And in another blow to Cassidy, at the behest of Gov. Jeff Landry, Louisiana did away with its jungle primary system where the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff, regardless of party, if no one clears 50 percent. That means Cassidy will have to win a primary consisting of only GOP voters, rather than a broader electorate.
“It really dealt a huge challenge to Cassidy. And quite frankly, I think that was intentional. I think the governor likely did that intentionally,” said Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), who predicted a tough road ahead for Cassidy. “Bill’s got a great heart, but the reality is you’ve got a job to represent the state. And I just think that he got out of sync on that.”
Cassidy on Tuesday said he is “hardly thinking about” his challenger and of the closed primary, “It is what it is, and we’ll deal with it.”
Trump has been excising Republicans he deems insufficiently loyal from the ranks since his first inauguration in 2017. He’s found resounding success in the House, installing fervent acolytes to replace those who defied him.
Of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, only two remain in office. Four retired, and four lost primaries to Trump-backed challengers, including a high-profile win against then-Rep. Liz Cheney in Wyoming.
Now, as Trump’s allies zero in on the Senate this year, they have a blueprint to follow from his House impeachment revenge tour. Anoint a candidate early and nudge the other ones out to avoid splitting the anti-incumbent vote.
Some early challenger names have cropped up in key states. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has suggested he could run against Cornyn.
When asked about Paxton considering a challenge, Cornyn responded on Tuesday, “Who?”
Of threats of political retribution, he said, “I think this has gotten a little out of hand. The senators have a responsibility under the Constitution to do advice and consent, and really it’s not just to protect the Senate’s prerogatives, it’s to protect the president against surprises that don’t come up during the vetting process.”
But that line of thinking isn’t slowing the MAGA army down. In Iowa, Deace said he’s received numerous calls about his possible challenge to Ernst but declined to specify if any of those calls were from people in Trump’s orbit. He said he would support the candidate Trump chooses if he decides to back an Ernst challenger.
“There’s very few Iowans that have the name ID to do this,” he said. “I’m one of them.”
Rachael Bade contributed to this report.
