Larry Kudlow Tells GOP Senator Lankford Party Has 'No Swag,' Lankford Fires Back at Conservative Media

Kudlow Says the GOP 'Doesn't Have It'

Larry Kudlow, who advised Donald Trump on economic policy during his first term, used his Fox Business show Kudlow to deliver an on-air lecture to Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) about what he sees as Republican failure in Congress.

Kudlow didn't hold back. He said the GOP lacks "swag, swagger, rizz, aura" and plain messaging discipline, according to a transcript of the segment reported by The Daily Beast. He accused congressional Republicans of "bungling budget policy," "bungling the affordability issue," and "bungling the growth issue."

"We're not draining the swamp by getting rid of all the fraudulent and corrupt spending left by Joe Biden's big government socialism," Kudlow said on the show. "And we're not helping middle-class folks so they won't have to pay taxes on Joe Biden's inflation."

He specifically called out Republicans for failing to move on indexing capital gains for inflation and raising the home-sale capital gains exemption, calling both "easy" wins the party has left on the table. He also pointed to what he described as hundreds of billions in unaddressed waste, fraud, and corruption in federal spending.

Kudlow tied the criticism to the broader political moment, noting that while Trump is "fighting a war to end the nuclear threats to freedom and civilization from radical Islam," congressional Republicans are doing him "no favors" heading into the midterms. He also referenced stalled items like the Voter ID Save America Act and a military supplemental tied to Iran as legislation that should have moved easily.

When Lankford joined the segment, Kudlow turned the criticism directly on him. "Mr. Lankford, I'm sorry you had to bear the brunt of that opening, but I'm telling you right now, you, the leadership in both houses, are bungling everything, sir," Kudlow said, according to the outlet's transcript of the exchange.

Lankford Pushes Back on Conservative Media

Lankford's response, in a separate appearance, was to complain that conservative media outlets are now "beating up on Republicans," a comment that drew a sharp reaction from Breitbart editor-in-chief Alex Marlow on Friday's edition of The Alex Marlow Show.

"So then you say that we can't criticize you in conservative media now?" Marlow said, pushing back on the senator's framing, according to Breitbart News.

Marlow's response cuts to a real tension. Lankford's complaint implies conservative outlets owe Republicans favorable coverage simply because they share a general political lean. Kudlow, a Trump loyalist with a long record of advocating supply-side tax policy, isn't attacking the GOP out of partisan animus. He's attacking it because he thinks Republicans are failing to deliver on the agenda they campaigned on.

What's Actually at Stake

The substance behind the sniping is real. Congress has not moved capital gains indexing or the home-sale exemption increase Kudlow referenced, despite both being long-standing GOP priorities that predate the current session. Congressional Republicans hold majorities in both chambers, which raises the obvious question Kudlow is asking: if not now, when?

This exchange lands amid a broader run of stories about friction inside the Republican coalition. GOP infighting has been a recurring theme this month, from the reported pressure campaign against Vice President JD Vance to betting markets shifting toward Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the 2028 frontrunner. Kudlow's on-air scolding of Lankford fits that same pattern: prominent conservative voices publicly airing frustration that the party isn't executing, not just squabbling over personalities.

Lankford is not without a defense here. As a member of Senate leadership-adjacent negotiating roles, he has been involved in bipartisan appropriations fights where Democrats control enough votes in the Senate to force compromise. This means not every stalled bill is purely a GOP failure to act. Budget reconciliation rules, the filibuster, and a narrow House majority all constrain what Republicans can pass unilaterally, a structural reality Kudlow's monologue didn't address.

Still, no legislative text on capital gains indexing or the home-sale exemption has been introduced or scheduled for a vote as of this writing. Whether Lankford or GOP leadership offers a specific rebuttal to Kudlow's claims, or a timeline for the stalled items, remains an open question.