Washington – Senate Republicans are meeting Wednesday to elect a new leader to represent the conference Minority Leader Mitch McConnell – the longest-serving leader in Senate history – chose to step down.
Meeting behind closed doors Wednesday morning, Republican senators are holding a secret ballot to elect their new leadership, as three candidates compete for Senate Republican leader, with President-elect Donald Trump's shadow over the race. Hovering.
whip john thune Former Whip of South Dakota john cornin Texas and Sen. rick scott The Florida man in search of the top role has worked behind the scenes for months to drum up support from his colleagues. Scott was eliminated from the competition after the first round of voting as he received the fewest votes.
The leadership race took on new meaning following the 2024 elections, in which Republicans took control of the Senate for the 119th Congress. With Trump returning to the White House next year and Republicans likely to retain control of the House, the GOP could have a unified government in Washington, which would provide a set of legislative priorities for the new Senate leader to work with Trump. Will prepare a long list.
Although Trump did not endorse in the leadership race, he dominated the contest, weigh with demands So that the new leaders can speed up the confirmation of their candidates.
Even without Trump's endorsement, his MAGA base of supporters has made clear who they prefer in the race, launching a vocal social media campaign in recent days for Scott as leader and warning that Cornyn and Thune Will put Trump's agenda in danger.
Scott was considered the underdog in the race, facing off against Thune and Cornyn, who have years of leadership experience — but who have also been Trump's less reliable supporters. The Florida Republican challenged McConnell for the role in 2022, when he received only 10 votes. It remains to be seen whether Scott's coalition moves forward following Trump's victory.
Vice President-elect and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance was also eligible to vote. Because he will be a member of the 119th Congress, if only for a short time, before Inauguration Day. Vance participated in the voting but when pressed by reporters did not say who he was supporting.
To become leader a candidate needs a majority of the convention's votes, or 27 votes. Since no candidate received a majority of votes on the first ballot, the candidate with the fewest votes was removed from the list in the next round. Senator Steve Daines of Montana and Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota gave nomination speeches for Thune, his office said. Senator Marco Rubio, who is Trump? hope to tap for Secretary of State, and Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee delivered Scott's nomination speech, the senator's office said.
Outside the top post, Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, the GOP conference chairman who was initially on the shortlist for leader, announced he would seek the whip post instead. And South Carolina Senator Tim Scott is seeking to chair the GOP campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Contributed to this report.