Senate Republicans Urge Donors To Not Fund Ambitious Reps. as GOP Seeks To Retain Control of The House

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is urging big-dollar donors to prevent some House lawmakers from jumping into key Senate races as the GOP seeks to retain control of the house during the 2026 midterms.

According to a new report by Axios, NRSC Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is seeking to avoid messy primaries, convincing donors to only put their money in certain candidates.

For instance, Scott is telling donors looking to fund GOP Senate races in Texas and Michigan to only give money to Sen. John Cornyn and former Rep. Mike Rogers, NRSC political director Brendan Jaspers told national donors Tuesday on a conference call.

The Cornyn endorsement specifically stands out as the latest indication to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is seeking to replace the senior Texas Senator, to back down.

"No other candidates for Senate in these states, declared or posturing, should receive financial support from the donor and PAC communities until they have made the smart decision to remain in the House and defend the president's margins there," Jaspers said, according to a person familiar with the call.

An NRSC spokesperson, Joanna Rodriguez, did not dispute the comments, arguing that their focus is to maintain Republicans' majority in the Senate and House alike.

"Leader Thune and Chairman Scott have been clear that the NRSC's goal is to protect President Trump's Majority in the Senate, and they know Mike Rogers and John Cornyn are the best candidates to do that in their respective races," she said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is seemingly echoing similar sentiments, revealing he is now in the stages of recruiting new talent to retain the GOP House majority.

"My preference, of course, is everybody stays, and we get the job done together," Johnson told Axios on Wednesday during an exclusive News Shapers interview. "But I don't begrudge anyone for seeking a higher office— governor or senator. And there'll be some folks who retire. It's just inevitable in the cycle."

"I'm in the candidate recruitment phase right now, so we're working to recruit high-quality folks to run," he added.

The lawmakers' focus on the 2026 midterms come as the GOP, particularly Trump, see collapsing poll numbers in their approval ratings.

For instance, a Decision Desk HQ and The Hill survey published Wednesday morning showed Trump underwater, with an approval rating of 44% and 56% disapproving of his performance. The poll was in line with a host of other surveys that also suggest Trump is in trouble, largely because of his trade policy. The performance has inspired Republican operatives to encourage him to stop with the turbulence on tariffs and focus on fulfilling the promises he made as presidential candidate on the economy.

"It's actually incredibly simple," Republican strategist Kevin Madden said. "Trump won in 2024 because a broader coalition of voters were nostalgic for the pre-COVID economy of Trump's first term and they believed Trump was better suited to address their concerns about inflation."

"His approval has dropped because the pursuit of restrictive trade policies and higher tariffs has initiated a new round of concern among voters. Trump still has strong support from his most dedicated Republican voters, but the flight of moderates and independent voters, who tend to be nomadic, are currently diluting his political coverage."