Congress barely had time to gavel back into session before the GOP’s top two leaders fell into a very public, very messy feud. Behind the scenes, according to Politico’s Jordain Carney and Meredith Lee Hill, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are sparring over strategy, priorities, and a controversial Senate maneuver that has pushed their once-smooth relationship into open hostility.
Both men are trying to run chambers held together by the thinnest of margins, and with Democrats refusing to provide lifelines on the biggest fights, even small disagreements threaten to derail the entire legislative calendar. Instead of projecting unity, Republicans are now airing frustration and sniping over turf like two branches of government locked in a family squabble.
Johnson lobbed the first grenade by attacking a provision Thune inserted into the government-funding package, a little-noticed measure granting senators the right to sue the federal government for damages if their electronic records were improperly seized. What might have stayed a low-profile technical fight suddenly became a public slap at Thune, who was blindsided by Johnson’s decision to trash the measure out loud.
While the House has been demanding tweaks to the newly passed bill releasing Jeffrey Epstein files, Thune has refused to reopen the legislation, insisting the Senate is done with it after Donald Trump signed it into law. That standoff has become the latest flashpoint, with Johnson’s allies pressuring him to force changes and Thune staying unmovable.
And there it is. Mike Johnson and Trump have enlisted Thune in the coverup and the Epstein files measures will be stalled in the Senate. pic.twitter.com/VYTVpQVqWl
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 18, 2025
Publicly, Thune insists everything is fine: “We work very well together. Communicate regularly. There are always going to be hiccups along the way,” he said, attempting to wave off the narrative that the two Republican leaders are now barely speaking. But Politico reports that the tension between the two men is real, unexpected, and escalating and no longer something either chamber can ignore.
A Senate Republican put it even more bluntly, telling the outlet, “That is House drama. We don’t need that over here,” placing the blame squarely on Johnson for stirring unnecessary political fires.
At the end of next month, key Affordable Care Act subsidies are set to expire, a shift that could trigger massive premium hikes for millions of Americans if Congress fails to act. It is the kind of must-pass crisis that demands cooperation between both chambers, yet Johnson and Thune are entering the fight at odds, surrounded by rival factions pushing contradictory demands.
Inside the GOP, the fear is growing that the feud is about more than two isolated disputes. Johnson leads a fractious House where the far-right is eager for confrontations, while Thune has long favored steadier institutional management. Those competing instincts one toward spectacle, the other toward stability, are suddenly on collision course.
If the two Republican leaders cannot find a way to patch things up, the fallout could be felt across the Capitol. Critical legislation may stall, spending deadlines could go sideways, and the party could find itself once again flirting with a government shutdown of its own making.
For now, Johnson and Thune insist everything is under control, the evidence suggests otherwise.
