Republicans have elected South Dakota Sen. John Thune as the next Senate majority leader.
Thune, 63, is in his fourth Senate term and has promised to work closely with Trump , despite differences the two have had over the years, and will be a crucial part of the incoming president’s efforts to push through his policy agenda. The two spoke on the phone shortly after Thune was elected, the senator posted on X Wednesday afternoon, adding that “Senate Republican s are excited and ready to get to work” with the incoming president.
Thune’s election represents a major shift in the upper chamber’s GOP conference as many senators have been eager to move on from McConnell’s long and powerful reign. But it will also be a complicated test for Thune as he will have to manage a conference that is often divided over policy, navigate Trump’s demands of the legislative branch and secure policy wins for the president as he begins his second term.
As the candidates tried to win over individual senators, all of their pitches centered around how close they would be to Trump. That was a more difficult task for Cornyn and Thune, who broke publicly with the former president over his effort to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. At the time, Thune called Trump’s actions “inexcusable.”
Speaking to reporters after he was elected, Thune noted that “the Senate has an advise and consent rule in the Constitution” but that they will do everything they can to get his nominees in place.Republicans take control of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and has held the Republican whip position — no. 2 in party leadership — since 2019. He took over for McConnell for several weeks last year when he was on a medical leave, a move that was widely seen as an audition of sorts as speculation surrounded McConnell’s future.
But the two differed on whether the leader should be term limited — a key demand from some in the conservative wing. Cornyn pushed for limits, while Thune did not.
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