December 9, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have elected South Dakota Sen. John Thune as the next Senate majority leader, completing a momentous shift in their leadership that elevates a top deputy of Mitch McConnell into a key position as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.
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 Republicans are excited and ready to get to work” with the incoming president.
Trump later congratulated Thune on his social media platform, Truth Social. “He moves quickly, and will do an outstanding job," Trump wrote. "I look forward to working with him.”
Thune beat out two other competitors, Sens. John Cornyn and Rick Scott, by gaining majority support from GOP senators in two rounds of secret ballots behind closed doors. Scott was eliminated on the first round and the final vote between Thune and Cornyn was 29-24, according to several people who requested anonymity to discuss the private meeting.
Republicans are replacing McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader, as they prepare to take majority control of the Senate with the 53 seats they won in last week’s elections. It was the first competitive election for Republican leader in three decades and Senate Republicans' first regime change since McConnell became GOP leader in 2007.
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.
“It is a new day in the United States Senate,” Thune told reporters immediately after he was elected. He said his majority will work to toughen border security laws, lower energy costs and overturn regulations they see as burdensome.
“We are excited to reclaim the majority and to get to work with our colleagues in the House to enact President Trump’s agenda,” Thune said.
Well-liked and a respected communicator, Thune has been perceived as a front-runner for much of the year. Like McConnell, he hails from the Republican Party’s more traditional wing.
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 medical leave, a move that was widely seen as an audition of sorts as speculation surrounded McConnell's future.
As he geared up to run for leader, Thune spent much of the year campaigning for his colleagues. According to his aides, he raised more than $31 million to elect Senate Republicans this cycle, including a $4 million transfer from his own campaign accounts to the Senate’s main campaign arm.
McConnell did not say who he was supporting, but said after the vote that Thune’s victory was a “clear endorsement of a consummate leader.”
“The American people elected Republicans to restore stability and order after four years of Washington Democrats’ failure," McConnell said. "John Thune will take the reins with a tremendous opportunity to lead this transformation, and Senate Republicans stand behind him, ready to get to work.”
