Republicans reject Trump allies' pick, elect John Thune as next Senate majority leader

WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans have elected Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., as the next Senate majority leader after rejecting public overtures from allies of President-elect Donald Trump who backed a different candidate.

Thune won in a secret-ballot vote of 29-24, beating out opposing candidate Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in the second round of voting. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., also ran but was eliminated in the first round of voting after receiving the least votes of the three.

The 63-year-old Thune will succeed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has led his chamber's Republicans since 2007 and is the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history.

The Senate majority leader is one of the most powerful people in Washington – and soon will have an important say over Trump's agenda. Thune will have the power to set the schedule for the Senate, which has sole control over confirmation of the Cabinet, about 1,200 other high-level government jobs and a president's judicial nominees.

"It's a new day in the United States Senate and it's a new day in America," Thune told reporters after the vote. "This Republican team is united. 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's win is even more significant because Republicans regained control of the upper chamber in the November election, putting the GOP on track to hold total control over Congress and the White House for the next two years.

Scott didn't make it past the first round of voting despite having the support of prominent Trump allies including Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. The latter two were tapped by the president-elect on Tuesday to lead a new "Department of Government Efficiency" to slash federal government spending, waste and regulations.

Trump's Senate allies had also been advocating for Scott, who has a longstanding relationship with the president-elect and who is typically more ideologically conservative than Thune or Cornyn. However, Trump did not decide to endorse in the race himself.

However, Scott's supporters expressed confidence that Thune would be an effective leader.

"I was for Rick Scott because I thought the communication was going to be better between him and President Trump because both of them are business guys," said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who is close with Trump, but added that he's "got no problem" with Thune or Cornyn.

"He's just got to prove himself to President Trump that he's 100% and will push his agenda. And I think he will," Tuberville said.

Scott also said in a statement that he "will do everything possible to make sure John Thune is successful in accomplishing President Trump's agenda."

Thune was long considered the favorite in the three-way race, given his No. 2 position in the Senate Republican leadership, though Cornyn was also considered a serious contender.

Thune has served as whip since 2019 and campaigned heavily for his GOP colleagues during this election cycle, a metric often used to size up candidates' fundraising prowess and willingness to help out the party. Thune raised $33 million this cycle and attended more than 200 events for Republican candidates, according to his office.

Conservative media personalities and Trump allies honed in on Thune's close ties to McConnell, arguing he would be a continuation of McConnell's style of leadership. Trump and McConnell have had a famously frosty relationship.

But Thune argued his leadership experience would allow him to effectively lead the conference – and represent Trump's interests in Congress.

"We have an ambitious agenda, and it will take all of us – each and every Republican – working together with President Trump’s leadership to achieve it," Thune wrote in an op-ed for Fox News. "If we don’t successfully execute on our mandate, we risk losing the coalition that swept Republicans into office up and down the ballot."

Thune has served in the Senate since 2005. Before that, he was South Dakota's at-large representative in the House for six years.

After Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building, Thune was among the many senators of both parties who condemned the rioters and opposed Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Trump then called for someone to challenge Thune in his 2022 primary, but no one emerged, and Thune prevailed.

Thune initially endorsed Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., in the 2024 GOP primary, but later supported Trump after Tim Scott dropped out of the race for the White House.

In the months since, Thune has worked to repair his relationship with Trump, including visiting Mar-a-Lago and speaking with him several times on the phone, including as recently as last week. He also met with members of the Trump transition team in September, according to his office.

Still, Thune on CNBC over the weekend urged the president-elect not to “exert” influence over the Senate leadership election.

Most senators kept their preferences secret ahead of Wednesday's vote. But three senators publicly endorsed Thune: National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont.; Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.; and Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.

Daines' endorsement may have been particularly helpful for Thune – Trump is a fan of the NRSC chair, who led the GOP to flip the chamber in this election. Trump was pushing Daines to enter the leadership race, though Daines declined.

(This story has been updated with more information and new photographs.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Thune elected by Republicans as next Senate majority leader