Republicans are fresh off an electoral landslide in the presidential race and a majority margin in the U.S. Senate, but their newfound political power is being tested with political infighting over who will serve as Senate majority leader.
Long-time Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is stepping down, with elections expected for his replacement via secret ballot Wednesday.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who helped propel President-Elect Donald Trump back to the White House, endorsed Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., as leader.
Scott is running against Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and John Thune, R-S.D.
Musk’s endorsement is just one of several from conservative voices to back Scott in the contested leadership race.
“The people who just gave Donald Trump a sweeping mandate do not want Thune or Cornyn to lead the US Senate,” Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and conservative grassroots leader who helped the Trump campaign win all seven swing states, wrote on X. “They want Rick Scott. It’s very clear.”
Tucker Carlson, a conservative voice who knows Trump personally, said he had a hand in pushing for Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, to become Trump’s vice presidential pick.
“What the hell is going on in the US Senate?” Carlson wrote on X. “Hours after Donald Trump wins the most conclusive mandate in 40 years, Mitch McConnell engineers a coup against his agenda by calling early leadership elections in the senate. Two of the three candidates hate Trump and what he ran on. One of them, John Cornyn, is an angry liberal whose politics are indistinguishable from Liz Cheney’s. The election is Wednesday, it’s by secret ballot, and it will determine whether or not the new administration succeeds.
“Rick Scott of Florida is the only candidate who agrees with Donald Trump,” Carlson added. “Call your senator and demand a public endorsement of Rick Scott. Don’t let McConnell get away with it again.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a lifelong Democrat turned independent turned Trump supporter, also expressed support for the more conservative Scott.
Cornyn and Thune are considered further to the left of Scott.
“Without Rick Scott, the entire Trump reform agenda wobbly,” Kennedy wrote on X.
That means Scott has racked up the endorsements of many of the biggest pieces of Trump’s re-election campaign.
“I will be supporting Rick Scott for Senate Majority Leader,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., wrote on X. “The status quo of $2 Trillion annual deficits is unsustainable.”
“The first order of business in the new Senate should be confirming President Trump’s cabinet. If I am the majority leader, I will keep the Senate in session until those confirmations occur.”
Trump has so far not publicly chosen a side, but he released a statement Sunday saying whoever wins should agree with recess appointments, the process by which the president can make a temporary appointment when the Senate is out of session.
Recess appointments would allow Trump to avoid what can become a lengthy and difficult confirmation process where Democrats can gum up Trump’s agenda.
“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,” Trump said. “Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again. We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY! Additionally, no Judges should be approved during this period of time because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership.”
Those initial appointments have become the first issue for prospective majority leaders. So far, all three candidates have publicly said appointments need to be pushed through, including recess appointments.
“We must act quickly and decisively to get the president’s nominees in place as soon as possible, & all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments,” Thune said. “We cannot let Schumer and Senate Dems block the will of the American people.”
