Trump's top allies are weighing in on the battle to succeed McConnell. Will Trump influence the race?
WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump’s allies are adding their voices ? and pressure ? to this week's high-stakes election to pick Republican leader Mitch McConnell's heir, who will play a major role in the incoming administration's vision for the country.
Trump allies Tucker Carlson, Vivek Ramaswamy, Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others are weighing in on the critical vote for the next Senate Republican leader.
The only question now is whether it will work.
McConnell – the longest-serving Senate party leader in American history – is stepping down from his leadership post in January. Three senators are running to replace him in an election that will take place behind closed doors Wednesday.
Two senators are considered the main contenders: Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who is currently second-in-command in the Senate GOP as Republican whip, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who has also served as whip and previously led the Senate GOP’s campaign arm. Both have longstanding relationships with McConnell.
But several of Trump’s most recognized allies, including Musk, are mounting a campaign to get Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., elected as McConnell’s successor. Senators who are close to Trump – including Sens. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.; Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; and Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn. – have backed Scott, too.
They argue Scott is the only candidate who has been sufficiently loyal to Trump and would be best equipped to represent the president-elect’s interests. Some are poking at a yearslong rivalry between Trump and McConnell that flared up after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
"A vote for Rick Scott is a vote to END the anti-Trump rot of Mitch McConnell in the US Senate,” conservative podcaster Benny Johnson posted on X. “Thune and Cornyn are a continuation of McConnell's total failure."
That's not all. Musk on Sunday simply shared on X, "Rick Scott for Senate Majority Leader!" Carlson accused Cornyn's positions of being "indistinguishable from Liz Cheney’s," one of Trump's most vocal critics. And Kennedy responded to Carlson's post, sharing, "Without Rick Scott, the entire Trump reform agenda wobbly."
Thune and Cornyn have been active fundraisers and campaigners for their fellow senators and are popular with their colleagues. Their supporters say they would bring decades of experience to the leadership role and could hit the ground running to enact Trump’s agenda.
Both Republican senators have worked to rebuild their relationships with the president-elect and say they stand ready to pursue his goals, including a recent demand to accelerate confirmation of his Cabinet and judicial nominees.
Still, Trump has not publicly indicated he plans to endorse in the three-way Senate race ? which will be conducted by secret ballot. If he did weigh in, a public pressure campaign is a gamble: It could change the direction of the race, or senators might reject Trump’s choice.
Here’s what to know about each option.
John Thune
Thune, 63, was first elected to the Senate in 2004. As the Republican whip, he is responsible for ensuring his party has enough votes to accomplish its goals in the upper chamber.
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 endorsed Trump after Scott dropped out of the race for the White House.
In the months since, Thune has worked to repair his relationship with the Trump, including visiting Mar-a-Lago and speaking with him several times on the phone.
Still, Thune on CNBC over the weekend urged the president-elect not to “exert” influence over the Senate leadership election.
Many senators are playing their cards close to their chests ahead of Wednesday's vote. But Thune has three public endorsements so far: National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont.; Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.; and Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.
John Cornyn
Cornyn, 72, has served in the Senate since 2002. He was the GOP whip before Thune and chair of the NRSC, the campaign arm for Senate Republicans, from 2009 to 2013. Before joining the Senate, he was Texas’ attorney general.
Cornyn also condemned Trump's actions on Jan. 6, 2021, and later said he didn't think Trump could win another presidential race. However, he endorsed Trump’s reelection bid in January this year.
He had less bad blood with Trump to begin with but has also worked to endear himself to Trump since then. Cornyn spent time on the campaign trail with Trump in Texas and Nevada and also visited Mar-a-Lago to speak with Trump during the campaign.
He has one public endorsement at the moment: Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
Rick Scott
Scott, 71, won a second term in the Senate last Tuesday. He was first elected in 2019 after serving as the governor of Florida, where he initially forged a relationship with Trump.
Before running for governor, Scott was the CEO of a for-profit hospital chain at the time the Department of Justice found it had defrauded Medicare and Medicaid and fined it $1.7 billion. Scott argued during his 2010 campaign for governor that the Justice Department targeted his company but has admitted that he “made mistakes” in the role.
Scott has led a small cohort of Republican senators who oppose McConnell and align more closely with Trump. In 2022, he ran against McConnell for the leadership position and lost 37 to 10. Some of his colleagues remain frustrated with GOP losses under his leadership as NRSC chair during the 2022 elections.
Scott has touted his close relationship with Trump as he campaigns for the leadership spot. He has noted that Trump’s soon-to-be chief of staff, Susie Wiles, ran his gubernatorial campaign, creating an immediate connection with the next White House.
“We have got to change the way the Senate is run to get Trump’s agenda done,” Scott said on Fox News on Sunday. “I’ve talked to my colleagues. I think everybody realizes we need to make a change. So the question is going to be: Who is going to make sure we get these things done?”
He has the endorsement of Johnson, Rubio, Hagerty, Tuberville and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
Confirmation demands
Trump has not indicated he plans to endorse in the race, despite his allies jumping in, but he has started making demands of the candidates.
On Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner.”
By demanding "recess appointments," he’s asking the leaders to agree to dismiss the chamber to allow Trump to appoint temporary nominees without lengthy confirmation battles – a tactic that former President Barack Obama used in the past and was the focus of a Supreme Court case. He also insisted that Republicans prevent Democrats from confirming any more judges while President Joe Biden remains in office.
All three candidates moved quickly to show their support for the idea.
“100% agree. I will do whatever it takes to get your nominations through as quickly as possible,” Scott wrote on X within minutes of Trump’s post, prompting Musk to endorse him for leader.
Thune told Fox News “all options are on the table.”
“One thing is clear: We must act quickly and decisively to get the president’s Cabinet and other nominees in place as soon as possible to start delivering on the mandate we’ve been sent to execute, and all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments,” he said.
And Cornyn posted on X: “It is unacceptable for Senate Ds to blockade President @realDonaldTrump’s cabinet appointments. If they do, we will stay in session, including weekends, until they relent. Additionally, the Constitution expressly confers the power on the President to make recess appointments.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump allies Musk, RFK Jr. influence Senate race to succeed McConnell