John Thune: Who is the next Senate Majority Leader?

Washington
CNN
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The election of Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota as his party’s next leader in the House of Representatives – putting him on track to become Senate majority leader next year – tasks a key ally of Mitch McConnell with pushing President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda through the Congress.

In the election of Thune – who is currently in the minority Whip, No. 2 role in GOP Senate leadership — Republicans are elevating a leader aligned with the party’s establishment wing over Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who has been hit by several prominent figures in recent days Trump allies included Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy and Tucker Carlson. The election was conducted by secret ballot, which might have allowed some political protection for Republicans wary of offending Trump’s most ardent supporters. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, another McConnell ally, also filed for the leadership post.

Thune, who won Wednesday’s second-round vote against Cornyn 29-24, will officially become majority leader when the new Senate is sworn in on Jan. 3. McConnell, who has led Senate Republicans since 2007, announced in February that he would step down as GOP leader this year.

In comments Monday on the Fox News website, Thune made a case for leadership and urged his fellow Republicans to prioritize supporting Trump’s agenda, including the president-elect’s plans to crack down on immigration, cut prices and domestic Increase energy production and pass tax laws.

“We cannot afford to take this coalition for granted. If we fail to implement President Trump’s priorities, we will lose their support,” Thune wrote. “They trusted us with their votes. Now we have to roll up our sleeves and get to work.”

Immediately, Thune becomes embroiled in a controversy brewing over Trump’s demand that the upper house use recess appointments to install its nominees, bypassing the formal advice-and-consent confirmation process that has allowed the minority party to do so in the past to block the election of a president. The three Republican senators vying for majority leader all publicly supported Trump’s call for his election victory, with Thune posting on X that “all options are on the table” to quickly confirm Trump’s nominee. Both the request and the quick approval from Thune, Scott and Cornyn signal a Republican-led Senate that will be eager to advance Trump’s agenda.

Thune, 63, had a complicated relationship with the president-elect. He called for Trump to drop out of the 2016 race in the wake of the infamous “Access Hollywood” scandal – although Thune later said he still planned to vote for Trump. And he condemned Trump’s actions in connection with the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 as unjustifiable. But when Trump faced a vote in the Senate following his impeachment over the incident, Thune sided with McConnell and most of the Republican caucus and voted not guilty.

Trump didn’t forget the slight, calling on South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to mount a primary challenge against Thune in 2022, even though she disagreed. Thune overwhelmingly won the primary this year and secured victory in the general election.

In May 2023, Thune supported Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina in the Republican presidential primary. But as it became clear that Trump would win the Republican nomination for the third consecutive time, Thune sought to mend relations with the former president.

Thune met with Trump in March at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and they have spoken several times since then, CNN previously reported. Thune also met with the chairmen of Trump’s transition team, Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon, in Washington earlier this month, a person familiar with the matter said.

Thune was first elected to the Senate in 2004, winning in a major upset against Sen. Tom Daschle, the incumbent Democratic leader at the time.