Conservative senators hail member-led strategy session as 'good first step' in dealing with mounting frustrations about Mitch McConnell's leadership

• A group of Senate Republicans hosted their first member-led policy discussion on Wednesday.
• Organizers said nothing concrete came out of the spitballing session but vowed to keep talks going.

While they doubt they have the votes to derail a bipartisan year-end spending deal appropriators are racing to finish, several Senate Republicans who pressed for a conference-wide meeting on Wednesday said they'd gotten the ball rolling on having more say in the next Congress.

"It's the first time since I've been here that we've had a broad discussion on coming up with a mission statement for what we're for," Sen. Mike Braun said upon emerging from the meeting he called along with others determined to pry power from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell after the party's midterm elections flop.

After quashing Sen. Rick Scott's attempt to wrest control of the caucus from him a few weeks back, McConnell said Braun and the others were free to pull together as many meetings as they see fit — so long as at least five Republicans sign on.

As for any changes he might make, McConnell said, rather bluntly, "There's nothing to negotiate."

Braun, who is eyeing the exits after jumping into the Hoosier State's 2024 race for governor, billed the midday discussion as very preliminary in terms of ironing out what Republicans feel like they'll be able to accomplish leading into 2024. Insider saw fellow Republicans Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, and Josh Hawley of Missouri pop in and out of the hour-plus long meeting to field phone calls or tend to other personal business.

"Nothing was fleshed out," Braun told reporters at the US Capitol, adding that "I think it's the beginning, maybe, of a more participatory process." He noted, however, that McConnell did not speak during the meeting.

Senate GOP leader John Cornyn said this gathering seemed collegial enough — this time.

"We're all very busy people with a lot of demands: family, campaigns, fundraising, our constituents. And everybody's spread pretty thin," the Texas Republican said of the time constraints lawmakers already wrestle with on a daily basis. He gave the meeting organizers credit for trying to find ways for Republicans to come together in the new year after falling short on election day.

"We can probably do a better job of being more unified, more strategic. And I think that's what this is about," Cornyn said outside the Senate chamber.

Still, convening more meetings, which Cornyn said this group seemed inclined to do, is preferable to the scorched-earth tactics others have embraced in the past.

"We've tried government shutdowns. There've been threats to undercut the full faith and credit of the country on things like raising the debt ceiling. So we just need to keep talking," Cornyn said.

Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who Braun said made a case for needing to rein in government spending, told reporters he'd only just begun to fight.

"I think we agreed on having more sessions like that," Johnson said, adding that he's making it his mission to "start looking at more information like this on a regular basis."

"This is only just a first step," Johnson said.

Co-organizer Sen. Rand Paul said there were no immediate plans to call another meeting, but left the door open to getting together in January since they'll need to work out their internal rules for the 118th Congress anyway.

Sen. Marco Rubio endorsed dragging leadership to the table more often.

"I think they're good meetings to have," Rubio told Insider. And he added that he's looking forward to more.

"Every time they call one, I'll be at 'em," he said.