By Liz Goodwin, Dylan Wells, Marianne LeVine The Washington Post (c) 2024
Senate Republicans on Wednesday chose Sen. John Thune of South Dakota to be their new leader, rejecting an outside pressure campaign from Donald Trump’s allies to break with the establishment in the secret-ballot election.
Thune, a close ally of retiring leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), has been critical of Trump in the past but has worked to repair that relationship in recent months. He reassured senators in a closed-door meeting Tuesday that he would work hand in glove with the new administration and would not butt heads with Trump even on issues such as continuing U.S. aid for Ukraine, which Trump opposes, senators said.
The incoming leader said Wednesday that he was “extremely honored” to have the support of his colleagues and planned to push Trump’s priorities after the “mandate election” he won.
“We are excited to reclaim the majority and to get work with our colleagues in the House to enact President Trump’s agenda,” Thune said after the election.
With Republicans on the brink of a governing trifecta in Washington, Trump looms larger than ever on Capitol Hill. The president-elect has made it clear he expects deference from the Senate but did not endorse in the race even as many of his allies backed Sen. Rick Scott (Florida). The incoming vice president, Sen. JD Vance (Ohio), voted in the leader election but did not make remarks, senators said.
Thune beat Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), who was previously in Senate leadership but had promised colleagues he would change the way the conference had been run, 29-24. He also beat Scott, despite his parade of support from outside right-wing influencers. The election took two ballots to decide, as no candidate clinched an outright majority on the first vote. Only 13 senators voted for Scott on the first ballot, before choosing between Cornyn and Thune on the second.
“While it isn’t the result we hoped for, I will do everything possible to make sure John Thune is successful in accomplishing President Trump’s agenda,” Scott said in a statement.
Conservative influencers warned Thune that they would clamor for his removal if he did not fully back the president-elect.
“He has a short window to show us he will support President Trump, fill his cabinet, confirm his judges, and pass his agenda,” Charlie Kirk, the founder of the pro-Trump organization Turning Point USA, wrote on X. “If he does, we will support him. If he doesn’t, we will work to remove him.”
Serving as majority leader during a second Trump term marks a remarkable journey for Thune, who just four years ago was working to thwart the outgoing president’s efforts to overturn the electoral college certification of Joe Biden’s victory.
After Trump’s loss in 2020, Thune told reporters that the Senate would reject Trump-backed challenges to the electoral results “like a shot dog.” Trump later called for a primary challenge to Thune.
When the 2024 GOP primary launched, Thune did not endorse Trump and instead backed a colleague, Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina).
But in recent months, Thune worked to fix his relationship with Trump and pitched his leadership as a role in which he would work closely with the president as a team.
The fight to replace McConnell, who is retiring, in many ways became a proxy battle over Senate Republicans’ fealty to Trump.
At a forum featuring the three candidates for leader Tuesday night, Scott cast himself as the truest ally to the president, after picking up high-profile MAGA endorsements from former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson, Republican National Committee Co-Chair Lara Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.
“My message is that I support Donald Trump’s agenda,” Scott said ahead of the forum.
Thune and Cornyn also promised a change of pace from how McConnell has run the chamber, and they vowed to proceed in lockstep with the new administration.
“They’re all committed to Trump’s agenda, giving him the room he needs early on to set the agenda,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (North Dakota), who supported Thune.
That includes the issue of U.S. support for Ukraine as it fights Russia, which Senate Republicans have voted for in the past despite Trump’s opposition. The candidates were asked if they were worried support for Ukraine would be a potential area of disagreement, for example, and all said they would defer to the president on the issue, Cramer said.
The candidates also all promised a change of pace from how McConnell has run the chamber, backing a more open amendment process and soliciting more feedback from senators. And all said their top priorities would be securing the southern border and reauthorizing the tax cuts set to expire at the end of 2025.
“There’s very little difference between the three of them in terms of how they view how the conference should be run,” Cramer said.
In the lead-up to the vote, senators received angry phone calls from constituents demanding to know how their representatives planned to vote, after MAGA world’s embrace of Scott.
Scott’s supporters pushed his cause in increasingly personal terms. Right-wing online personality Laura Loomer targeted Thune’s nephew and daughter, for example, and other influencers posted inaccurate whip lists purporting to show how Republican senators planned to vote in the secret-ballot election.
“They shouldn’t be offended by the fact that their constituents are calling in and expressing their opinion,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (Wisconsin), who backed Scott. “Based on the overwhelming support of conservatives for Rick Scott, if a senator’s not willing to say it, that will speak volumes.”
Trump himself avoided weighing in on the race directly, despite his allies going all in on Scott. The space he gave senators to make the decision on their own was appreciated, senators said.
“It’s good he’s not weighing in on it; he doesn’t need to weigh in on it,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (Alabama), a Scott supporter, said of the president-elect. “He’s got his hands full.”
Scott is viewed with skepticism by some of his fellow senators for how he handled their campaign apparatus when he presided over the 2022 midterm elections cycle as National Republican Senatorial Committee chair. Republicans underperformed that year in part because of poor recruits.
While he stayed out of the race, Trump made clear he wants the Republican-led Senate to bend to his will when it comes to his appointments, asserting that he plans to go around the chamber for some nominees.
“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner,” he wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.
All three leadership candidates quickly said allowing recess appointments, which would require the Senate to be adjourned for at least 10 days while the president unilaterally appoints nominees, would be an option they would consider.
Such a move could allow Trump to push through controversial nominees who do not have the support of all Republicans. The Senate majority will include 53 seats.
Senators also elected Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) as majority whip and Sen. Tim Scott (South Carolina) to lead the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which runs Senate races. Sens. Tom Cotton (Arkansas), Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia) and James Lankford (Oklahoma) also nabbed GOP leadership spots.