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Thune weighs nightmare scenario for GOP as Democrats threaten to flip House

The Senate majority leader dismissed the prospect of divided government while campaigning for GOP candidates in Nebraska

By Alex Miller, Elizabeth Elkind Fox News
Published October 23, 2026 1:01pm EDT

Election forecasters see Democrats taking the House, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital he is confident Republicans will hold the chamber, and he won’t have to work with potential Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

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FREMONT, Neb. — If Democrats are able to gain control of the House of Representatives, one relationship between the top two lawmakers on both sides of Congress could define the remainder of President Donald Trump’s time in office.

If that’s the outcome on Election Night, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., would have to work with the Democratic leader who rises in the House, and that is expected to be House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who has led Democrats in the lower chamber since 2023.

But Thune, in an interview with Fox News Digital on the campaign trail in Nebraska, remained confident that wouldn’t be the outcome.

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If the House flips and the Senate doesn’t, the relationship between Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., could define the remainder of President Donald Trump’s time in office.(Alex Miller/Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“Well, I mean, I think obviously that’s an entirely different dynamic,” Thune said. “You’ve got a situation with divided government and that creates a different incentive structure in terms of if you want to be able to get things done, but I don’t assume for a minute that’s going to happen.”

“I still think that when push comes to shove and people look at the choices in front of them that we have a really good shot at hanging on both the House and the Senate,” he continued.

Election forecasters predict that the Senate could stay in Republican control, though seven total races are considered toss-ups by the Cook Political Report. Republicans’ chances of holding onto power in the House, however, are murkier, given that dozens of battleground seats are in play that have shifted favorably toward Democrats.

The GOP has had a grip on the lower chamber since 2022, when it flipped the House during former President Joe Biden’s presidency. But a deeply unpopular Trump, whose approval ratings have dipped to historic lows, and continued economic pressures could contribute to Democrats regaining power.

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Jeffries’ office did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital asking whether he could work with Thune if both won their respective leadership spots.

There has been no love lost between the two men during this congressional term so far, with each sharply criticizing the other during key legislative fights.

Thune blasted Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., earlier this year as talks began to break down over funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The top Republican accused both of being “afraid of their shadows,” and being controlled by their left flank.

That prompted Jeffries to retort to reporters that it was Thune who was “scared of his own shadow” during the partisan standoff. During the 2025 government shutdown, Jeffries accused Thune of “trying to bluff his way into an agreement” on federal spending.

Congress is no stranger to a divided government, either. From 2023 to early 2025, Republicans controlled the House and Democrats held a razor-thin majority in the Senate.

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks during Capitol news conference.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., spoke during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 13, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

During that time, according to data collected by the Pew Research Center, the split Congress produced 106 laws. This version of Congress has so far produced 121 laws, with some major legislative action happening, like the “big, beautiful bill” and a major housing affordability package, passing between historically long government shutdowns.

Thune is laser-focused on keeping the GOP’s control of the Senate, which was under Democratic control until 2024, when Trump and Republicans clinched a trifecta in Washington, D.C.

He’s crisscrossed the country for the last several weeks of the homestretch heading into the election on Nov. 3, boosting candidates in competitive races that could determine the balance of power in the Senate.

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Republican control of the upper chamber, he contended, would be vital to continuing key chunks of Trump’s agenda, including confirming his judicial and other executive branch nominations.

“So if you want to see the country succeed and move forward, we’ve got to have a majority in the U.S. Senate to work with this president,” Thune said. “Hopefully with a majority in the House as well, but I am very committed to doing whatever I can in the next couple of weeks getting around the country on behalf of our candidates to ensure that we have that majority in the Senate.”

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.