Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) denied trying to steer Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) away from appointing Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) to her Senate seat as she prepares to become governor in January.
“I haven’t had any conversations with her about that,” Thune told reporters on Tuesday, responding to Burchett’s repeated claims that he is being boxed out of the conversation in favor of someone more friendly to congressional leadership.
“I mean, Marsha Blackburn is going to make that decision,” Thune said, adding that it’s “not my call” when pressed on the idea that he opposes Burchett specifically.
The Washington Examiner previously reported that Thune and Blackburn have not spoken about the appointment. A source close to the Blackburn team also confirmed that she has not yet begun interviewing for the position. Blackburn won her Tuesday race for governor with 45% of the vote, compared to 43% for Jerri Green, her Democratic opponent.
Burchett, a four-term House member and ally of the conservative Freedom Caucus, put his name in the mix last year, when Blackburn first announced that she would run for governor, and is likely being considered alongside several other current and former state officials, among them ex-Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs. War Secretary Pete Hegseth is not expected to be appointed after initial media speculation.
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Burchett has said that regardless of the appointment, he plans to run for Senate when the seat opens up again in 2028 and pinned any resistance to his selection on his reputation as a rabble-rouser in the House.
Burchett was one of the eight House Republicans who voted to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy in 2023.