(The Center Square) – U.S. Senate Republicans on Wednesday elected Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., to lead the party in the Senate.
Senate Republicans voted via secret ballot to elect a new party leader as longtime Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky,. is stepping down.
Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, Thune and John Cornyn of Texas also ran for the position.
“I am extremely honored to have earned the support of my colleagues to lead the Senate in the 119th Congress, and I am beyond proud of the work we have done to secure our majority and the White House,” Thune said in a statement. “This Republican team is united behind President Trump’s agenda, and our work starts today.”
Scott was considered the more conservative choice and received backing from Trump stalwarts like billionaire Elon Musk and activist Charlie Kirk, who helped propel Trump to victory on Election Day.
But Scott was the first booted from the voting after he received the fewest number of votes in the first round. The election rules stated that if no candidate received 27 votes in the first round, the third place candidate would be dropped.
Wednesday morning, all three candidates gave speeches to their fellow Republicans along with the senators who nominated and seconded nominations.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, hosted a forum Tuesday evening where the candidates answered questions and made their case for the job.
After that forum, Lee announced on X that he was endorsing Scott.
“Senators are supposed to have ample opportunity to debate, discuss, and amend important legislation, and the Senate rules offer important procedural protections to ensure such outcomes. Those rules have been short-circuited by leaders of both parties, empowering what I sometimes describe (in the current configuration of Congress) as ‘The Law Firm of Schumer,’ McConnell, Johnson, & Jeffries,” or simply ‘The Firm’,” Lee said.
“The Firm’s vast power is good for The Firm and its members – and for a handful of lobbyists and staffers who serve as its acolytes – but it’s bad for the Senate as a whole, and especially bad for the American people,” he added.
Lee expressed frustration with how senators’ power has been limited to consolidate it in the majority and expedite negotiations with the other side.
“Rick Scott has offered concrete plans for (a) protecting each senator’s ability to call up amendments and make them pending, (b) reforming the (currently barbaric) way in which the Senate passes spending bills, in which most senators have literally no meaningful opportunity to to amend – or even read and debate – spending bills negotiated in secret by The Firm, and (c) otherwise ensuring that the Senate GOP leader will work for those who elect him, and not the other way around,” Lee said.
In fact, several Scott supporters were vocal on X about their choice, but other media reporting indicated that Scott was in third place in the race earlier this week.
“John Thune is Senate Majority Leader,” Kirk wrote on X after the election. “He has a short window to show us he will support President Trump, fill his cabinet, confirm his judges, and pass his agenda. If he does, we will support him. If he doesn’t, we will work to remove him.”
