Senate Republicans to choose new leader as Mitch McConnell resigns

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans will meet behind closed doors on Wednesday to choose a new leader, marking the final climax of the fight. split the party and pitted a candidate backed by President-elect Donald Trump’s MAGA allies against two long-serving senators with institutional knowledge and deep relationships within the institution.

The three-way race includes Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the current whip; John Cornyn of Texas, a former whip; and Florida’s Rick Scott, the underdog candidate who just won a second term. Senate Republicans held a candidate forum Tuesday evening after Congress returned from a long recess.

The secret ballot election will be held Wednesday morning; Incumbent and newly elected senators will be able to vote, and it’s unclear who will win. Only a handful of members said how they would vote, and most kept their cards close to their vests. If no one gets a majority in the first ballot, the one with the lowest votes will be eliminated and the top two will face each other in the second ballot.

The winner will become majority leader for the next two years after Republicans Won control of the Senate in elections. The winner will replace Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Resigning as party leader after 18 years in office this made him the longest-serving leader in Senate history.

Thune and Cornyn, first elected during George W. Bush’s presidency, come from the institutionalist wing of the GOP and have climbed the ladder. 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.

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

“I think at the end of the day, Thune still wins,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., a Trump ally who supports Thune.

“We feel good about where we are, but you never know until voters vote,” Thune said after the meeting.

Colleagues see Scott, first 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 particularly weigh in. The ability to appoint the leader of one’s choosing is complicated by secret ballot; This means he cannot know which senators do not support his preferred candidate or punish them politically.

All three candidates are running on the promise of carrying out Trump’s agenda, and that is a clear point of agreement between them.

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

“As Congress returns to Washington, we must prepare the Senate to legally advance (Trump’s) agenda and ensure that the next president can hit the ground running, 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 Trump’s nominees and pass our shared agenda as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

“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 is running unopposed for the No. 2 majority whip position. 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.