The new Senate GOP leader performs a MAGA congratulatory act: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version of From the political editorial teaman evening newsletter bringing you the latest reporting and analysis from the NBC News Politics team from the White House, Capitol Hill and the election campaign.

In today’s edition, senior national politics reporter Sahil Kapur examines how newly elected Republican Senate leader John Thune’s relationship with President-elect Donald Trump is quickly being tested. Plus, the latest on Trump’s Cabinet nominations and JD Vance’s vision for the vice presidency.

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The new Senate GOP leader performs a MAGA gratification act

By Sahil Kapur

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., was elected the next Senate majority leader in a closed session of Senate Republicans on Wednesday, replacing Mitch McConnell, who is stepping down from the top job after a record 18 years.

Thune’s victory, a respected institutionalist, shows that while the Senate Republican Conference has become more aligned with President-elect Donald Trump with each election, it has not morphed into the MAGA entity that House Republicans have become.

An online army of Trump supporters mobilized to push for the underdog candidate, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, as they viewed him as the most loyal of their candidates. Not only did the effort fail, but some GOP aides told NBC News that it backfired and sparked a negative reaction among senators. The secret nature of the vote made it less vulnerable to outside pressure and was a real test of Republican sentiments.

But Scott was eliminated in the first round and received the fewest votes of the three candidates. That led to a neck-and-neck race in the second round between Thune and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a longtime colleague at the institution. Both Thune and Cornyn have broken with Trump on several issues in the past, including on Jan. 6 and his false claims of a stolen election.

The most revealing part? Trump himself did not intervene in the race. Before the vote, Thune warned Trump about it on CNBC, saying, “I think it’s probably in his best interest to stay out of it.”

Neither Thune nor Cornyn endorsed Trump in this year’s GOP primary. But both supported him in the general election after he secured the nomination. And after Trump’s decisive victory in the general election, all three candidates ran for office to advance his goals.

“This Republican team is united behind President Trump’s agenda and our work begins today,” Thune said in a statement after his election.

Still, in his first post-election news conference, he promised that Senate Republicans would maintain the legislative filibuster he oversaw – the 60-vote threshold that Trump repeatedly and unsuccessfully urged Republican senators to abolish during his first term. Republican senators mostly agree with Thune on this.

And the competitive dynamics within the Senate GOP will quickly come back to the forefront as Thune and his members oversee the confirmation process for Trump’s Cabinet picks in the new year. Several of these candidates – Republican Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida for attorney general, former Democrat and Republican Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and former member of the National Guard, and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense – have already been drawn. The reactions were enough from surprise to astonishment.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said Gaetz’s prospects for confirmation were “high,” adding that it was “very possible” that Trump was testing the limits of how far he could push the Senate.

Meanwhile, House Republicans voted unanimously to nominate Mike Johnson of Louisiana for re-election as speaker in January, with support from Trump.

NBC News predicted Wednesday that Republicans would retain control of the House of Representatives, meaning voters would officially hand all levers of power in Washington to Trump and his party. But what is expected to be another narrow majority will pose challenges for the party – especially since Trump is leaving the ranks of Republicans in the House of Representatives for his cabinet.

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Trump Transition Guard

In addition to Gaetz, Gabbard and Hegseth, Trump has announced several other personnel changes in the last 24 hours.

• Trump has tapped tech billionaire Elon Musk and conservative activist Vivek Ramaswamy to head a new “Department of Government Efficiency,” fulfilling his campaign promise to give Musk broad control over government spending.
• But Musk’s near-constant presence at Mar-a-Lago in the week since Election Day has begun to wear down people who have been in Trump’s inner circle longer than he has and who believe he is overstepping his role in the transition.
• Trump said he would nominate John Ratcliffe as CIA director. Ratcliffe, a former congressman from Texas, served as director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term.
• Trump announced that William McGinley will be his White House adviser. McGinley, a longtime figure in Republican legal circles, was Cabinet secretary during the first Trump administration.
• And special counsel Jack Smith and his team plan to resign before Trump takes office. Smith’s office has been considering the best way to stop its work on the two outstanding federal criminal cases against Trump, given the Justice Department’s long-held position that it cannot charge a sitting president with a crime.

Loyalty, Trust and a “Hammer” for Trump: A Preview of Vance’s Vice Presidency

By Henry J. Gomez

JD Vance has said little about his vision for the vice presidency, aside from mentioning some areas of policy interest, such as immigration. As a candidate, he stuck faithfully to Trump’s playbook, filling in the blanks when necessary, but rarely outperforming the man whose support lifted him from a crowded Republican Senate primary field in Ohio in 2022.

Those who have watched his rapid rise expect that momentum to continue even if and when Vance prepares to run for president in 2028. Trump and Vance’s allies believe that loyalty is Vance’s greatest quality and his smartest move for the short-term future of their administration and for his longer-term political future.

“He will focus on whatever issues the president asks him to address,” said a source familiar with the relationship between Trump and Vance.

Vance’s unwavering loyalty to Trump has been his calling card since his well-documented transformation from Trump critic to Trump advocate, and their bond has grown closer as a vice presidential candidate. They speak by phone every day, 24 hours a day. After voting near his home in Cincinnati on Election Day, Vance told reporters about the 3 a.m. call from Trump that he missed several hours earlier. Trump was on his way home from his final campaign rally, but Vance was already asleep.

Vance is seen in the Trump world as a shrewd political operator who has defined political views but is not an ideologue, a campaign official said. Those close to Trump do not see Vance as someone who would expend political capital pursuing an agenda that runs counter to his own. What would best serve Vance’s political ambitions, this official said, would be a successful Trump administration without infighting in which he could shine.

Part of Vance’s portfolio could build on his constitutional role as president of the Senate, which Republicans will control next year and where he is normally only needed to cast votes in tied votes. Vance will be Trump’s “eyes and ears” in the chamber, the source familiar with their relationship said.

“JD,” the source said, “wants to be a hammer for Trump in the Senate.”

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That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have any feedback – likes or dislikes – email us at [email protected]

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