Senate Republicans choose John Thune as new leader to replace Mitch McConnell

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans are looking to Sen. South Dakota as their leader in the next Congress. He chose John Thune; He replaces longtime leader Mitch McConnell, who is leaving office after a record 18 years, three sources with knowledge of the vote said.

Thune, the Senate Republican whip, ran against two other senators: John Cornyn of Texas, a former whip, and Rick Scott of Florida, an underdog candidate who just won a second term.

First elected to the Senate in 2004, Thune chaired the Republican conference and chaired the Commerce Committee before ascending to the whip position in 2019.

Thune ran for leadership on a platform of carrying out President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda, but the two men didn’t always see eye to eye: Thune rejected Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

“I am extremely honored to have earned the support of my colleagues to lead the Senate in the 119th Congress, and I am extremely proud of the work we have done to secure our majority and the White House,” Thune said in a statement. “This Republican team is united behind President Trump’s agenda, and our work begins today.”

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Senators met behind closed doors on Wednesday and voted by secret ballot. split the party and pitted Scott, a candidate backed by Trump’s MAGA allies, against two long-serving senators with institutional knowledge and deep relationships within the institution.

Two sources with direct knowledge of the voting said the first round of voting resulted in 23 votes for Thune, 15 for Cornyn and 13 for Scott, with Scott eliminated. Three sources told NBC News that the race came down to Thune and Cornyn in the second ballot, with Thune winning by 29 votes to 24.

Thune to be majority leader for next two years after Republicans Won control of the Senate in last week’s election. He will replace Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell. Resignation after 18 years in office this made him the longest-serving leader in Senate history.

“As Congress returns to Washington, we must prepare the Senate to legally advance (Trump’s) agenda and ensure that the next president takes action, with his appointees confirmed as quickly as possible.” Thune wrote in a column for FoxNews.com. “The Republican majority in the Senate will work with President Trump to ensure that the Senate calendar allows us to confirm his nominees and pass our shared agenda as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

Senate Republicans held a candidate forum Tuesday evening after Congress returned after a long recess to hear from all three candidates. And the secret ballot election began Wednesday morning, with incumbent and newly elected senators able to vote. Only a handful of members said how they would vote in advance, and most kept their cards close to their vests.

Thune and Cornyn, both elected during George W. Bush’s presidency, come from the institutionalist wing of the GOP. Both have long-standing relationships in the conference and could argue they are next in line, having each served as the No. 2 Republican for six years.

Before the vote, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-D., said he supported Thune but admitted there was “very little” difference between him and Cornyn. “Even though Cornyn told me yesterday… people say they’re mirror images of each other. And I think John Thune would be offended by that,” Cramer said.

Colleagues viewed Scott, who was elected in 2018, as a more divisive figure, and he has been a vocal critic of McConnell for years. He has firmly aligned himself with the party’s MAGA wing and has received some endorsements for the job from Trump allies, including right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson, billionaire philanthropist Elon Musk and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

“I think I’m in a unique position to really help carry out the Trump agenda. … I’m optimistic that I’ll win. I’m talking about the things that people say they care about, and so we say, ‘Look,'” Scott told NBC News on Tuesday.

But Trump didn’t weigh in, especially on this issue. His ability to appoint the leader of his choice was complicated by secret voting; This means he cannot know which senators voted against his preferred candidate or could punish them politically.

All three candidates promised to carry out Trump’s agenda, which was a clear point of agreement between them.

Thune and Cornyn also touted their fundraising skills and the donations they made to help their colleagues win elections.

“We Must Make the Senate Work Again to Make America Great Again,” Cornyn wrote in a letter to fellow Senate Republicans on Tuesday, pledging to decentralize power.

“To that end, we will reinvest in the Senate committee process to drive an aggressive legislative agenda that secures our borders, reduces federal spending, strengthens our economy, unlocks the nation’s energy potential, and reverses bad Biden-Harris policies,” Cornyn said. he continued. “Our default position on legislation being considered on the floor will be an open amendment process led by committee chairs to allow changes and increase debate.”

As part of the leadership change, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming was elected to the No. 2 majority whip by acclamation after running unopposed. And the No. 3 slot features a battle between Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Joni Ernst of Iowa.

Asked about Cotton’s team exuding confidence that the votes were his, Ernst said he wasn’t so sure.

“Kamala Harris also thought the votes belonged to her,” Ernst said.