Republican leaders in Congress are facing mounting fury from their own base after failing to advance key conservative priorities despite holding a majority, according to a blistering editorial in the American Thinker. The piece, written by Mike McDaniel, argues that GOP senators have “spent more time fighting the voters who elected them than their Democrat counterparts” since retaking control in 2024.
A Do-Nothing Majority
The article lambasts Senate Republicans for what it describes as a pattern of legislative inaction and self-sabotage. Beyond slow-walking judicial confirmations, McDaniel claims the GOP majority failed to pass crucial legislation like the SAVE Act—which would implement voter ID requirements—while finding time for frequent vacations and truncated work weeks.
“They thought they could get away with not passing legislation absolutely necessary to the survival of the Republic,” McDaniel writes, accusing leadership of resisting conservative priorities from border security to Obamacare repeal. The op-ed particularly singles out Senate Majority Leader John Thune, alleging his caucus “hasn’t done—to put it mildly—jack squat.”
Missed Opportunities
McDaniel contrasts this inaction with what he frames as the Trump administration’s concrete achievements: border enforcement, military rebuilding, and economic growth that saw poverty rates hit historic lows. The piece argues Republicans failed to consistently message these wins while allowing progressive judges to expand their reach unchecked.
“Congress establishes all courts below the Supreme Court and could rein them in,” notes McDaniel, framing judicial overreach as a solvable problem that GOP leaders lacked the will to address. The editorial suggests this legislative paralysis helped fuel the party’s poor showing in the 2026 midterms.
A Call for Accountability
The solution, according to the piece, is wholesale leadership change: “If Republican leaders had any shame after Tuesday’s results, they’d resign for senators who actually agree with their voters.” McDaniel acknowledges this is unlikely given what he describes as Washington’s tendency to turn public servants into self-interested careerists.
Ultimately, the article places responsibility on voters to demand better: “It will be up to voters… to demonstrate what happens when their reasonable expectations are ignored.” Whether conservatives can channel their frustration into electoral consequences remains an open question—but the scathing assessment signals growing grassroots impatience with the GOP establishment.
Source: www.americanthinker.com — https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/11/time-for-a-second-firing/