Republicans reject the choice of Trump allies and elect John Thune as the next Senate majority leader

WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans have chosen Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., as the next Senate majority leader after rejecting public overtures from allies of President-elect Donald Trump who supported another candidate.

Thune won in a secret vote with 29 votes to 24 and prevailed on the second ballot against opponent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, also ran but was eliminated on the first ballot after receiving the fewest votes of the three.

Thune, 63, will succeed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has led his chamber’s Republicans since 2007 and is the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history.

The Senate majority leader is one of the most powerful people in Washington – and will soon have a major say in Trump’s agenda. Thune will have the power to set the schedule for the Senate, which has sole control over Cabinet confirmation, about 1,200 other top government positions and the president’s judicial nominees.

“It’s a new day in the U.S. Senate and it’s a new day in America,” Thune told reporters after the vote. “This Republican team is united. We look forward to taking back the majority and working with our colleagues in the House to implement President Trump’s agenda.”

Thune’s victory is all the more significant because Republicans retook control of the upper house in November’s elections, putting Republicans on track to retain complete control of Congress and the White House for the next two years.

Scott failed to make it past the first round of voting despite receiving support from prominent Trump allies such as Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. The latter two were tapped by the president-elect on Tuesday to lead a new “Ministry of Government Efficiency” to cut federal government spending, waste and regulations.

Trump’s allies in the Senate had also campaigned for Scott, who has a longstanding relationship with the president-elect and is typically more ideologically conservative than Thune or Cornyn. However, Trump has not decided to support the race himself.

However, Scott’s supporters expressed confidence that Thune would be an effective leader.

“I was for Rick Scott because I thought the communication between him and President Trump would be better because they are both businessmen,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who is close to Trump but added he had “no Problem” with Thune or Cornyn.

“He just needs to prove to President Trump that he is 100% committed and will push through his agenda. And I think he will,” Tuberville said.

Scott also said in a statement that he will “do everything we can to ensure that John Thune successfully implements President Trump’s agenda.”

Thune was long considered the favorite in the three-way race because of his position as second in the Senate Republican leadership, although Cornyn was also considered a serious contender.

Thune has served as whip since 2019 and campaigned heavily on his GOP colleagues this election cycle, a metric often used to gauge candidates’ fundraising abilities and their willingness to help the party. According to his office, Thune raised $33 million this cycle and attended more than 200 events for Republican candidates.

Conservative media personalities and Trump allies highlighted Thune’s close ties to McConnell and argued that he was a continuation of McConnell’s leadership style. Trump and McConnell have had a notoriously frosty relationship.

But Thune argued that his leadership experience would allow him to effectively run the conference — and represent Trump’s interests in Congress.

“We have an ambitious agenda, and all of us — every single Republican — must work with President Trump’s leadership to achieve it,” Thune wrote in an editorial for Fox News. “If we do not successfully implement our mandate, we risk losing the coalition that swept Republicans into office during the election.”

Thune has served in the Senate since 2005. Before that, he served as South Dakota’s general representative in the House of Representatives for six years.

After January 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Thune was among many senators from both parties who condemned the rioters and opposed Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump then called for someone to challenge Thune in his 2022 primary, but no one showed up and Thune prevailed.

Thune initially supported Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., in the 2024 GOP primary, but later endorsed Trump after Tim Scott dropped out of the race for the White House.

In the months since, Thune has worked to mend his relationship with Trump, including visiting Mar-a-Lago and speaking to him on the phone several times, including just last week. He also met with members of the Trump transition team in September, according to his office.

Nevertheless, on CNBC over the weekend, Thune called on the president-elect not to influence the Senate election.

Most senators kept their preferences secret before Wednesday’s vote. But three senators publicly supported Thune: National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont.; Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.; and Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.

Daines’ support may have been particularly helpful for Thune — Trump is a fan of the NRSC chairman, who led Republicans to switch chambers in this election. Trump urged Daines to join the leadership race, but Daines declined.

(This story has been updated with more information and new photos.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Thune was elected by Republicans to be the next Senate Majority Leader