Senate Republicans are heading into the final stretch of the midterm campaign with an anxious message from within their own ranks: they have not done enough to address the cost-of-living pressures weighing on voters.
The Senate is expected to leave Washington on Wednesday, sending lawmakers back to their states and districts for the homestretch of the election season. But the chamber's recent agenda has been dominated by the Protect College Sports Act, a bill from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that cleared the Senate late Monday night. For some Republicans, the focus on college athletics has come at the expense of the economic message they believe will decide the election.
«I'm just hoping that this will be the best bill ever passed by the United States Senate considering the ungodly amount of time we've spent on it,» Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said. «So maybe this will be the most perfect and pristine piece of legislation ever.» Hawley added that there are «a lot of things we could be doing and should be doing» before the Senate leaves, listing fuel costs, prescription drugs, health care and the financial burden of the artificial intelligence boom as priorities that all end in one word: costs.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., was more blunt. «We've been spending all week on trying to make the football coaches happy,» he said. «I'm voting for the bill, but I can assure that moms and dads out there across America, when they lie down to sleep at night … they're not worried about the football coaches.» Kennedy said he and others have been pressuring Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to take another shot at reconciliation tailored exclusively toward affordability, or at least to bring up a bill shielding consumers from rising electricity costs tied to the AI boom. «Because we haven't done a damn thing,» Kennedy said. «And it's biting us in the ass right now.»
Thune has teed up what will likely be the Senate's last attempt at addressing affordability this week: a bill from Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, that would require AI companies to bear the brunt of rising utility costs from data centers. The measure is expected to be blocked by Democrats, who are not eager to hand Republicans or President Trump a victory so close to the midterm elections.
For some Republicans, that effort is too little too late. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., recalled winning the North Carolina House and becoming speaker, running to fix the economy and then owning the issue once in power, regardless of the previous administration's actions. «That's how you actually show some leadership and get it done,» Tillis said. «You can't rationalize that we're here because of a problem caused by the prior administration. That's how we got elected. But you gotta fix it if you promise to. And that's what we have to work on. I just think rationalizing away, that's just not good politics.»
Republicans are quick to tout their accomplishments from last year, notably the «big, beautiful bill,» as their signature achievement on affordability. It was a predominant pitch during the midterm convention in Dallas earlier this month and is being heard increasingly in the Senate as Nov. 3 approaches. Vice President JD Vance earlier this month asked voters to «give us another chance.» When asked about that plea, Tillis said, «You know what? If it works, it'll be a first.»
The concern over inaction has intensified as the Senate's main business in recent weeks has been the college sports bill, which cruised through the upper chamber late Monday night. From the summer of 2025 to now, with several shutdowns and partisan fights in between, the sting on voters' wallets has become an afterthought to some concerned Republicans, even as polls show cost pressures shaping the political landscape.
With the Senate set to depart and the election fast approaching, the party's internal debate over whether it has delivered on its economic promises will now play out on the campaign trail, where voters will render their verdict.