For months, Donald Trump has been trying to replace Senate Minority LeaderMitch McConnell of Kentucky as the top Republican in the upper chamber.
McConnell scolded the president on the Senate floor after he was acquitted of inciting insurrection for his role in the January 6 riot. The relationship between McConnell and Trump deteriorated after McConnell said that he would support Trump if he became the GOP presidential nominee.
Despite Trump's enormous influence among the Republican base, his efforts to pressure lawmakers to McConnell have so far failed to take off, as GOP members have continued to overwhelmingly back the veteran senator, according to a report.
The two pledges from GOP candidates to oust McConnell as the leader of the party's caucus are the result of months of attacks from the former president, which included calling McConnell an "Old Crow" and blasting his vote for President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure framework.
No GOP senator has ever gone on record opposing McConnell as Senate leader, and no challengers have emerged from the ranks of the upper chamber. There is no appetite for such a fight, with the prospect of such a challenge eliciting shrugs, despite Trump's entreaties, according to the report.
Tommy Tuberville, who was endorsed by Donald Trump last year, said that voters care more about what you do as a senator, what you bring up, what you voted against, and how you fight for it.
In the last few weeks, Trump's criticism has become more pronounced.
Shortly before Biden signed the bipartisan infrastructure bill into law, Trump mocked McConnell for supporting the legislation and urged him to attend the signing ceremony. McConnell had previously stated that he wouldn't be at the White House event.
The debt ceiling was raised by Democrats earlier this week, and the former president called out McConnell for supporting it.
"How this guy can stay as Leader is beyond comprehension, it's coming from virtually everyone in the Republican Party," Trump said in a statement released on Wednesday. He is a disaster and should be replaced immediately.
The anti-McConnell sentiment hasn't gained much traction among the GOP base.
Kelly Tshibaka, who is running in a GOP primary against incumbent Lisa Murkowski in Alaska, and Eric Greitens, who is running in a Missouri GOP primary, have called for new leadership.
Tshibaka said on the "War Room" that he wouldn't support McConnell for leadership because he was anything but a leader.
Greitens said that Trump paved the way for "uncompromising leadership."
He said in a September statement that he was committed to finding new leadership in the Senate when the Republicans win back the majority.
Most people wouldn't consider a leadership vote in their candidate choice, according to John Thune.
He said that some consultant told them to be anti-establishment. "I don't think most people will vote for a candidate based on who they are going to vote for leader."
