The South Dakota Republican has one of the least enviable jobs in Washington in the coming hours — trying to knit a compromise between factions of his party: one side pushing for more spending cuts in the legislation and senators who are threatening to withhold their support unless there is more funding for health benefits, renewable energy subsidies and other priorities.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is rushing to meet President Donald Trump’s July 4 deadline for pushing through his massive tax and spending bill, but first he has to work through a list of approximately eight Republican senators who have expressed opposition to portions of it.
Within the next two days, he needs to find a way to appease most of them. The Senate will kick off a marathon voting session on dozens of amendments Monday morning, a process that can take 12 hours or more, and Thune will be working behind the scenes to quell their concerns.
