As they prepare to lose power, U.S. Senate Republicans have reelected John Thune to lead the party for the final years of President Donald Trump’s term.
In a closed-door meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, the South Dakota lawmaker won the support of his fellow Senate Republicans, even though some wanted to delay the party vote to examine what went wrong in last week’s election.
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“I appreciated the opportunity to have an open, honest, and transparent conversation with my colleagues today,” Thun said in a statement after the vote. “I am honored to have their continued trust and support in leading the Senate Republican Conference for the 120th Congress.”
Unlike two years ago, when he competed against two of his fellow Republicans to replace retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader, Thune was an unopposed candidate for the role on Tuesday.
Sen. Josh Hawley told reporters after the vote that if Senate Republicans had waited longer, “maybe there would have been a challenger.”
“I think we have a lot of things to think about, but what kind of message does it send by just rushing into this and just confirming all of the same leaders?” the Missouri Republican said.
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, who distributed a letter asking for the vote to be postponed, said he was trying to delay leadership’s decision. He said his conference needed to do some “real soul searching” but acknowledged that, like Hawley, no one else had come forward to challenge Mr Thune.
“That’s part of our problem: Who would want that job?” he said, joking to reporters, “Do you want it?”
Thune’s reelection comes after Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives selected a successor to Speaker Mike Johnson. Congressman Jim Jordan has been elected Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, marking his first foray into Republican leadership.
Republican Senate Defeat
During Thune’s tenure, the U.S. Republican Party lost at least seven seats in the Senate in the country’s crucial midterm elections. Two U.S. Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi have not yet been called.
Despite those losses, there is “broad support” among Republican senators within the party, including Sen. Jim Lankford of Oklahoma, for Mr. Thune, who has taken a markedly different approach than Mr. McConnell in seeking different viewpoints before making major decisions.
“It’s a pretty complex role to manage,” Lankford said of Toon’s role. “Nobody wants that kind of job.”
Some conservative voices blame the party’s defeat on Mr. Thune’s efforts to pass the Save America Act, which would require voters to prove their U.S. citizenship and show identification when voting.
But he said Tuesday after winning re-election that the backlash from voters was bigger than just the bill.
“Well, I don’t think it’s ever one thing in any election,” Thun told reporters. “I think it was a combination of things, but the most important one was the cost of living for Americans.”
Republican leaders have previously sought to sound the alarm on affordability, including rising global energy prices, in the lead-up to the midterm elections. In a Fox News interview in September, Thune said that while he once said President Trump’s Iran war was not “a long-term thing,” it “took precedence over everything else” for American voters.
He has also emphasized Israel’s right to self-defense and criticized policies that put pressure on Israeli military operations.
“Both the president and Democratic leaders have a right to express their personal strategic opinions, their personal opinions about the leadership of Israel,” Thune said in response to former President Joe Biden and then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s 2024 comments. “What they don’t have the right to do is try to influence the electoral process or the strategic planning of a sovereign nation.”
Relationship with Trump
Over the next two years, Thune will have to fight to prevent another Republican loss in the 2028 election and contend with a White House that has signaled its intention to further strengthen its most controversial policies. And if Republicans want to advance any legislation, they will need to work with the Democratic-controlled Congress.
But Thune said he was looking forward to the “important work” ahead.
“I’m proud of what this Republican team accomplished together.” “We remain united in our determination to advance conservative priorities, work with President Trump and our colleagues in the House, and hold the line against Democratic efforts to enact far-left and liberal policies.”
