Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

GOP civil war looming as MAGA senator prepares to lead key committee caucus

rawstory.com · 16h · first reportShare

Senate Republicans could be headed for a bloody internal brawl if they hang onto the chamber this midterm — and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) gets a big promotion, Politico reported on Wednesday. President Donald Trump has long fumed over the " blue slip ," a Senate tradition letting home-state senators — including Democrats — effectively veto district court judges, federal marshals and U.S. attorneys nominated in their state. Lee, an avid Trump advocate, is next in line to chair the powerful Judiciary Committee if the GOP keeps its majority, putting him in position to finally give the president what he is demanding. "The decision risks pitting Lee against his Senate GOP colleagues, many of whom support the status quo. It also all but guarantees a public pressure campaign from Trump, with whom Lee has worked to ingratiate himself over the past two years," Politico reported. Lee isn't promising to blow the whole thing up, though, Politico reported. "There is no appetite to just get rid of them,"