senators who actually make that decision, show some independence and courage," said Thom Tillis, U. S.
Senator from North Carolina. "And recognize that Thune has helped navigate an almost impossible scenario to navigate with this president."
Former leadership contenders also noted the immense challenges inherent to leading the Senate GOP conference.
"John's a smart guy," said Rick Scott, U. S.
Senator from Florida. "He is working really hard.
So I think he shouldn't — you know, it's tough to be the leader."
Scott reflected on the broader legislative workload remaining before the Senate.
"We've got a lot of issues we haven't addressed, so it's hard," said Scott. "I assumed it was gonna be hard."
Other senior lawmakers pointed out the constitutionally independent role of the legislative branch when evaluating White House demands.
"The Senate has to act as an independent body," said Chuck Grassley, U. S.
Senator from Iowa.
Uncertainty remains regarding how individual senators will weigh recent leadership decisions in upcoming conference votes.
"We'll see," said Mike Lee, U. S.
Senator from Utah.
Finally, former leadership colleagues reiterated that extending session hours would not yield additional votes for disputed measures.
"Disappointing [the President] but also our voters 99 days before the election strikes me as a bad idea," said John Cornyn, U.
S. Senator from Texas.
Cornyn was clear about the futility of remaining in Washington without the required consensus.
"We can stay here 'til the cows come home, and it's not going to change anything," said Cornyn.
