Senate Republicans reelected John Thune as their leader on Tuesday, swiftly returning him to the top job after three tense closed-door meetings over a midterm wipeout that cost the party its majority — and rejecting, 31-15, Ron Johnson's push to delay the vote and think again.
Johnson had circulated a letter demanding the elections be put off, and he walked out of the meeting on Tuesday as voting was beginning. "If you don't think after losing seven Senate seats minimum that we need to change course, I don't know what planet you're on," he said. "We could've waited a week, waited a couple of weeks. I don't know that there was a huge rush to hold this election." Josh Hawley walked out with him, asking what message it sends "to just rush into this and just ratify all of the same leadership." The conference answered by voting to proceed — and then, with Thune running unopposed on a secret ballot, by keeping the entire team: John Barrasso, Tom Cotton, Shelley Moore Capito and James Lankford all stay in their leadership posts, and the one change comes at the campaign arm, where Bernie Moreno takes over the NRSC from Tim Scott.
"I appreciated the opportunity to have an open, honest, and transparent conversation with my colleagues today, and I am honored to have their continued trust and support to lead the Senate Republican Conference in the 120th Congress," Thune said in a statement, promising a team "united in our commitment to advancing conservative priorities, working with President Trump and our colleagues in the House, and holding the line against Democrats' efforts to enact their far-left, liberal agenda." President Trump had stayed out of the fight, saying Monday that Thune is "a very fine man" and the choice was the Senate's. With at least seven seats gone and Alaska and Mississippi still uncalled, senators are also pushing to stay in session around the clock — through Christmas and New Year's if needed — to finish the year's work before Democrats take the majority on January 3.
For Republican voters it means the leadership that passed the tax and spending cuts now leads the defence in the minority, with no interregnum and no public split: the conference heard the anger over the losses, argued it out behind closed doors, and chose continuity — betting that a settled command, working with President Trump and the House, is the fastest route back to a majority.
The Senate Republican leadership that lost the majority on Tuesday is set to stay in place, and the one senator who twice tried to take the top job will not try again — which leaves the party heading into the minority under the same leaders, with a harder road back. Senator Rick Scott of Florida said on Fox News' "Saturday in America" that he will not challenge John Thune for Republican leader. "I don't want to run again. I've run twice," Scott said. He failed in a 2022 challenge to Mitch McConnell and fell short on the first ballot again after his re-election in 2024.
Asked whether he would support Thune, Scott would not commit. "We'll see what happens. We'll see who else is going to run. I don't know if somebody else is going to run," he said. Thune hopes to continue atop the caucus even after Tuesday's dramatic reversal of fortunes, which leaves Republicans in the minority for the next two years.
Scott instead backed Senator Ron Johnson's push to delay the leadership vote, called for Tuesday, until the conference first decides what it will change. "We have to change something. So what Ron's proposing, which I completely agree with, is let's sit down and decide what we're going to do differently. Then we can decide who's going to be the leader," Scott said. Johnson is asking for what he calls a "fulsome conference discussion" and a chance to hear from leadership candidates about the kind of collaborative governing model they would adopt.
On the weeks that remain, Scott argued Republicans should use every day of the majority they still hold. "What we ought to do is just stay up there until January 3rd or whatever it is when the new Democrats get sworn in, and let's get everything done. Just stay every day — all through Christmas, all through Thanksgiving, all through New Year's, every day. Stay there, get things done," he said.
For ordinary Americans, the argument is over what the Senate does with its last weeks in the majority: every bill passed and every nominee confirmed before January 3 is one the incoming Democratic majority cannot undo on its first day, and the judges and officials confirmed now will serve for years. If the Senate spends that time on a leadership fight instead, the window closes unused.
📰 ProfiloPolitics Member News — choose your news, share it, earn credit:
https://white-curlew-963569.hostingersite.com
Never miss a story — Join our Telegram channel
Breaking U.S. political news, live as it happens — plus the stories the big outlets sit on.
Join ProfiloPolitics on Telegram