Trump’s BBB Black Book

The president is strategically withholding endorsements for senators who may need them to hold on to their seats. But would he risk losing the Republican majority—and face very real political consequences himself—for the sake of spite?

For certain senators, the risk of getting knocked off in a primary is real. It’s clear why John Cornyn and his team, for instance, are at pains to point out that the senator votes with Trump 99 percent of the time. Photo: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Leigh Ann Caldwell

June 18, 2025

President Donald Trump has endorsed about half of the senators running for reelection in 2026, including his golfing buddy Lindsey Graham in South Carolina; Montana’s Steve Daines, the campaign maven who helped Republicans gain control of the Senate last cycle as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee; and blindly loyal types like Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, who serves as a liaison between the Senate, the House, and the White House. J.D. Vance’s Ohio replacement, John Husted, has also received the president’s blessing.