The GOP’s once sure-fire odds to retain their Senate majority in the midterms are looking bleaker every day, but according to a new report from Politico, some in the party are plotting a “coup” that could save them from a complete wipeout: flipping John Fetterman, the increasingly ostracized Democratic senator. Fetterman was first elected to the Senate from Pennsylvania in 2022, besting the Trump-backed Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz and helping Democrats defy the odds and grow their majority in the chamber. Initially styling himself as a working-class progressive champion, he has since made a major shift away from his own party, voicing support for various initiatives and nominees from President Donald Trump and breaking the Democratic minority on several key votes.
The flip part has to do with who is senate leader, and all the powers that come with it.
Arguing over who gets to own the “Send more money to Israel” committee chairmanship
Let’s get real. The power in the Senate isn’t with the individual Senators, any more than the power in F-1 is with the drivers.
Individual Senators do have power when their peers are trying to pass something or prevent something.
That’s how Senator Lisa Murkowski ®, from Alaska, was able to get her state special concessions negotiated in order to pass the unfavorable OBB bill which was anything but beautiful.
The senate majority leader has a lot of procedural power.
Significantly less than the House Speaker, as a point of comparison. Also, the Majority Leader tends to be the Senator with the largest lifetime fundraising haul. When a Senator (like Cruz or Paul or Lee or Sanders) doesn’t need the money to win reelection, they can get out-of-pocket very quickly.
Individual Committee Chairmen have significant power. And Majority Leader gets to nominate the Chairmen. But the future prospective Chairmen back the Majority Leader in exchange for the nominations. So it’s a Chicken-Egg situation, where the real pull comes from electing more Senators to back you, not strong-arming them with procedure once everyone is sworn in.
One consequence of the Platner primary win in Maine is that he’s personally at-odds with Schumer out of the gate. By contrast, both Schumer and Fetterman are nakedly Zionist. Platner is more of a threat to Schumer’s future reclamation of Majority Leader than Fetterman, as a result.