John Thune and Mike Johnson were chosen by their party: NPR

Republicans have chosen their party leaders for the next Congress under President-elect Donald Trump.

Senate Republicans elected South Dakota Sen. John Thune to be Senate majority leader when the new Congress convenes in January. House Republicans unanimously nominated Speaker Mike Johnson for another term. The full House of Representatives will vote to elect the Speaker on the opening day of the new Congress on January 3, 2025.

On the Senate side, Thune will have a 53-47 GOP majority to shepherd Trump’s agenda through that chamber.

“This Republican team is united. “We are a team, we look forward to taking back the majority and working with our colleagues in the House of Representatives to implement President Trump’s agenda,” Thune told reporters after Wednesday’s closed-door election. “We have a mandate from the American people – a mandate not only to clean up the mess left by the Biden-Harris-Schumer agenda, but also to implement President Trump’s priorities.”

Thune, 62, is currently the second-largest GOP front-runner. He is generally popular among GOP conference members and was considered a leading candidate in the run-up to the election. He replaces current GOP leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has been the highest-ranking Republican in the Senate since 2007.

Johnson, who won the gavel last fall after Republicans ousted his predecessor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, has had a tumultuous year. Members of his own conference blocked passage of bills and threatened to fire him because he worked with Democrats to pass legislation to prevent government shutdowns – the same reason McCarthy was thrown out.

The Republican leadership election came as Trump visited Washington for the first time since his election. He spoke to Republicans in Congress and met with President Biden in the Oval Office.

He credited Trump’s visit to the conference Wednesday morning with setting “the tone for our day.”

“It was kind of a pep rally,” Johnson said. “He gave us a very inspiring message and talked about the importance of sticking together with this leadership team and sticking together moving forward.”

Changes to the house rules

The leaders of each new Congress have the power to adjust some of the operating rules, and Republicans are trying to consolidate their power through changes to House procedures.

“Now that we have our leadership team, it’s time to get to work,” said Rep. Tom Emmer, who was re-elected as Majority Whip by his colleagues. “With the trifecta in hand, we stand ready and united behind President Trump to implement his ‘America First’ agenda once and for all.”

As an example of this unity, Johnson pointed to discussions between the House Freedom Caucus and the Main Street Caucus to raise the hurdle for the repeal proposal – something that was a thorn in the side of Johnson and his predecessor.

Rep. Dusty Johnson, chairman of the Main Street Caucus, said he negotiated with the chairman of the Freedom Caucus to increase the number of members needed to remove a speaker to nine instead of one.

“Thanks to this agreement, we are better positioned to advance the Republican agenda,” he said.

The Senate agenda

Confirming Trump’s Cabinet nominees will be the Senate’s first order of business in January. Thune did not rule out the possibility of a full recess in Congress to allow Trump to temporarily appoint nominees without requiring Senate confirmation. But he expects Democrats will work with Republicans to ensure Cabinet nominees are approved through the regular process.

“The Senate has an advisory and consenting role in the Constitution, so we will do everything we can to address it.” [nominees] “We need to move them quickly and get them in their positions so they can start implementing his agenda,” Thune said.

“We expect a certain level of cooperation from Democrats to work with us to install these people,” he said. “Of course we will look at all options to make sure they come through and are approved quickly.”

Thune further said the Senate will continue to maintain the legislative filibuster policy and that the Senate will continue to be a body where the minority party has a voice in the process.

“We will accomplish the task that the Founders intended us to do in the United States Senate and the American people intended us to do,” he said. “And that, right now, after this mandate election that comes from the American people, means working with this president on an agenda that undoes much of the damage of the Biden, Harris, Schumer agenda.”

Thune, who sits on the Senate Finance Committee, has signaled that renewing Trump’s 2017 tax cuts is a top legislative priority. Republicans in Congress plan to use a process known as budget reconciliation to pass a package that could extend tax breaks set to expire at the end of 2025 and further reduce corporate tax rates. Leaders also plan to delay energy and immigration bills.

Trump’s influence

Although Trump had no vote in the Senate election, he had a large lead in the contest. Several of his allies supported Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, who was otherwise considered a less serious candidate for the post.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson endorsed Scott and launched a public campaign to urge Republican senators to support him. Some Trump allies also questioned whether Thune’s public criticism of the former president after January 6, 2021 could be an obstacle.

But the closed, secret vote found that Thune’s long-standing relationships with colleagues and experience were the deciding factor in his promotion.

The South Dakota Republican was elected to the House of Representatives in 1996 and served three terms. After failing in his first bid for the Senate in 2002, he ran again in 2004, ousting then-Democratic leader Tom Daschle, the first time a top party leader was defeated in more than 50 years. Thune has held other positions in Senate Republican leadership since 2009, chairing the Senate Commerce Committee, a panel with a wide-ranging portfolio that includes transportation, telecommunications, science and consumer protection issues.

McConnell announced in February that he was resign from his leadership post, marking the end of his tenure as the longest-serving GOP leader.

The Democrats congratulate Thune

Thune had a friendly relationship with members across the aisle, even if they had different opinions on policy.

Senator Chuck Schumer, the current Senate majority leader, congratulated Thune during his opening remarks on the Senate floor and appealed to the very unlikely hope that Republicans would act on the other side of the ballot despite control of the House, Senate and White House.

“I am looking forward to working with him. We’ve done a lot of bipartisan things together here in the Senate and I hope that continues,” Schumer said. “I firmly believe that bipartisanship is the best and often only way to get things done in the Senate.”

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, praised Thune: “He’s going to play a role as a partisan leader, but I think he’s a very decent guy and I look forward to working with him.” “

A house in limbo

House Speaker Mike Johnson shakes hands with President-elect Donald Trump on stage at a Republican conference meeting at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

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Wednesday’s vote in the House GOP conference does not guarantee that Johnson will wield the gavel in January. He needed a majority of House Republicans in Wednesday’s secret vote, but will need a majority of all House members in January. All Democrats are expected to support Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., meaning Johnson can only afford a few defections depending on the final number of Republicans in the House.

The GOP appears to be on track to retain control of the chamber, but results are not yet in for a number of races in California and Arizona. Based on the outstanding contests, it’s likely the GOP frontrunners will only have a three- or four-seat majority. With Trump already selecting three current Republican members of the House of Representatives for his administration – Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York and Mike Waltz and Matt Gaetz of Florida – the top politicians face vacancies as they leave Capitol Hill and trigger special elections. All represent consistently red districts.

In a letter to his colleagues last week asking for their support, Johnson said: “As we navigate this historic moment together, with a united Republican administration, the next two years can lead to the most consequential Congress of modern times.”