U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) said he would “love” the opportunity to serve in the U.S. Senate if appointed by Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), should she win the 2026 gubernatorial election.
Burchett, who has endorsed Blackburn in the gubernatorial race and previously expressed interest in succeeding her in the Senate, said his approach in the U.S. Senate would be direct and action-oriented, unlike some politicians who, he said, talk about forming “study committees” and accomplish little.
“I would love the opportunity to be in the U.S. Senate. I think I would enjoy the fight. I could take the fight to them…I hear these folks out here that say, ‘I’m going to form a study committee. I’m going to do this’ – that’s all bogus,” Burchett said on Friday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
Burchett drew heavily on his Tennessee legislative experience to illustrate what kind of U.S. senator he would be, reminiscing about his 16 years in the State Legislature and his role alongside Blackburn and others in blocking a state income tax, which he views as one of Tennessee’s greatest political victories.
“A lot of people would not have moved here, and it would’ve been a disaster [if the state income tax passed],” Burchett said.
Burchett also touted his fiscal conservatism, explaining how he opposes bloated, multi-thousand-page spending bills and government waste.
He emphasized how his fiscal restraint and government accountability would be central to his Senate agenda.
“Single-issue spending bills. I talk about that in Congress, and everybody’s eyes just roll because that’s the corruption – they want a 3000 page bill to pass so they can get all their garbage in there,” Burchett said.
Further, Burchett said his strategy in the Senate would be to act as a “conduit for good House bills,” criticizing the lack of communication between lawmakers in the two chambers.
He noted that bills like his proposal to defund the Taliban often pass the House but die in the Senate without support.
“I would like to be a conduit for good House bills. In the state legislature, there is that conduit, there’s that talk, there’s a friendship. In the [U.S.] Senate, I always say, when I talk to one of my House buddies, I say, when you get elected to the Senate you have to do what everybody else does and they said, what’s that? I said, ignore me completely, because there is no conduit,” Burchett said.
“Like my bill to defund the Taliban, I passed it in the House…But it’s over in the Senate and there really is no conduit for somebody to pick it up. You go over there and you ask somebody, Hey, will you take this bill? Or they see it, or they miraculously put it in at the last minute a big 3000 page funding bill,” he added.
Burchett previously served 16 years in the Tennessee General Assembly and eight years as mayor of Knox County before assuming his congressional seat in January 2019.
When a U.S. Senate seat becomes vacant in Tennessee, the governor may appoint a temporary replacement until a successor is elected in the next regular November election.
If Blackburn ultimately wins the 2026 gubernatorial election, she would be required to vacate her Senate seat in 2027 and appoint a temporary successor until a special election is held.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
