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The G.O.P.’s Least Favorite Senator

Once it was Ted Cruz. Recently it's been Rand Paul. But Republican senators have a new least-popular member in their ranks.

Mike Lee
What has truly infuriated Senate Republicans is that Lee has raised expectations among an uncompromising base that it’s possible to pass the bill, and that failure would be a dereliction of duty. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Leigh Ann Caldwell
April 2, 2026

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For a while it was Ted Cruz. For much of the second Trump administration, it’s been Rand Paul. Now, Mike Lee is emerging as the most despised senator in the Republican conference. “[John] Thune needs to shove Mike Lee in a locker,” one Trump ally in the Senate told me.