John Thune responded to the Republican defeat by defending a record he said had put “more money in Americans’ pockets”. He pointed to tax policy and promised to work with President Trump to stop Democrats from undoing what Republicans had accomplished.
In the Winston Group’s preliminary exit-poll analysis, about eight in ten voters said inflation had imposed moderate or severe hardship. Sixty-five percent thought tariffs had hurt the economy. Thune needs to explain what his policies have done for people facing those costs, including the costs they believe his party’s decisions added.
Democrats have won control of Congress, according to the election calls. Counting and certification continue, and the new Congress takes office in January. Republicans still hold the presidency and, until then, their congressional majorities.
Thune’s account is being challenged by other voices on the right. In a reply to Thune, conservative commentator Mike Cernovich demanded an end to the filibuster and more action on Trump’s agenda. Former Republican senator Jeff Flake argued Thursday that the economic damage began with indiscriminate tariffs before the Iran war. Taking either explanation seriously would lead Republicans to different governing choices.
In our nonprofit trust work, confidence in an organization’s ability to do the work is a different judgment from confidence in how it treats people. The McQueen Analytics Circumplex Trust Model describes these as Competence and Respect. Taking voters’ reported hardship seriously would mean explaining which economic decisions Thune is willing to reconsider, even while he defends other parts of his record.
Tariffs give Republicans a specific place to start. Thune should work with members of both parties on a public examination of their costs to consumers and the benefits the administration says they will produce. That examination needs to include Republicans who disagree about the policy. They should ask whether the expected benefits have appeared and where the results differ from the administration’s forecasts. If members continue to support a tariff, they should explain the cost they are asking people to carry while waiting for it to work.
There is already a bipartisan proposal they can use as a starting point. In April 2025, Democrat Maria Cantwell, Republican Chuck Grassley and senators from both parties introduced the Trade Review Act. It would require the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of imposing or increasing covered tariffs and provide an assessment of the potential effects on businesses and consumers. Those tariffs would expire after 60 days unless a congressional resolution approving them became law. Antidumping and countervailing duties were excluded.
The administration opposed the bill and threatened a veto. It argued that congressional approval would weaken the president’s bargaining position and ability to respond to foreign threats. Thune should work with the bill’s supporters on a proposal for the next Congress that sets a deadline for emergency tariff decisions to receive congressional approval. It should also require the administration to account for the costs of keeping tariffs in place. If Trump vetoed that legislation, its supporters would need enough votes in both chambers to override him. Changing the review process would not immediately lower current prices.
The AP Voter Poll found that about seven in ten voters thought Congress was not doing enough to check the presidency, including about four in ten Republicans. Republican senators can demonstrate that they take that concern seriously by examining decisions made by their own administration and supporting limits they would also accept under a Democratic president.
After losing Congress in 1994, Bill Clinton accepted his share of responsibility. He said too few people felt more prosperous or secure despite the progress he believed his administration had made. He also offered to work with the incoming Republican leaders.
In Winston’s preliminary analysis, the 15 percent of voters who viewed both parties unfavorably backed Democrats by 59 to 34. Cantwell should ask Thune to join her in seeking an account of what tariffs have cost consumers and what they have achieved. Their work should be open to evidence that challenges either party’s position. Democrats’ obligation to deliver while Trump remains president includes deciding where they can work with Republicans on an agreement.
Thune can begin before January by asking the administration for the same kind of consumer-impact assessment for existing tariffs that the bipartisan bill proposed requiring for new increases. He can explain which tariffs he intends to support and which he will seek to change. For a business placing its next order, the assessment needs to explain the expected import costs and when any proposed change would take effect.