The success of President-elect Donald Trump‘s second term in office — its efficient operations and its ability to make a lasting impact on the federal government — requires functioning legislative majorities in the House and Senate. Fortunately, Republican majorities in the two chambers have been able to coalesce around proven, experienced, mature, and competent candidates who can help deliver a conservative agenda without allowing their institutions to become rubber stamps for the White House.
In the Senate, Sen. John Thune (R-SD) beat Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) 29-24 in a second round of voting after Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) was eliminated on the first ballot. Congratulations to Thune, whom we believe will make an excellent successor to outgoing Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Scott, who had all but pledged to do anything Trump wanted, was clearly the president-elect’s favored candidate. This was made plain by the intervention of several Trump surrogates endorsing Scott. Trump himself did not go so far as that, a wise abstention since he could make his views known without a public endorsement that would have delivered him an early defeat and created unnecessary friction with the eventual winner. But it is clear that Trump intends to make his feelings and his presence felt; how else to interpret his visit to Capitol Hill, albeit to the House, at precisely the time that senators were voting?
It is not that Thune intends to try and thwart Trump — quite the opposite. On facing the press immediately after his win, the new leader stated his intention to have a united caucus working to enact Trump’s agenda. All three leadership candidates promised a change in direction from McConnell by allowing more debate and amendments, returning from top-down management to something approaching regular order. Thune has also made it plain he is open to making recess appointments if necessary so Senate Democrats are not able to obstruct the new president in building his government.
“Thune is not McConnell, and he has a different type of leadership style than that,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), who backed the winner. “I’ve seen the way he led when McConnell went down, when he wasn’t able to be there. And I really enjoyed his leadership style.”
Congratulations, too, to Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), who was elected unopposed as chief whip, to the No. 2 leadership slot, and to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who defeated Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) for the No. 3 slot, conference chairman. With Thune, they are an impressive team of talent and energy, supporting a president who has just won a clear mandate, and yet also men conscious of constitutional proprieties and aware of the need to protect the first branch of the federal government against encroachment by the second.
In the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) both ran largely uncontested, a welcome result and a welcome change from the chaos that had afflicted House Republicans since they retook the chamber in 2022. Unlike his Senate counterparts, Johnson did secure an endorsement from Trump, an important factor in smoothing his path to victory.
The Republican congressional leadership elections bode well for a Trump administration that wants to get a lot done and has less time to do it than might be supposed. Despite Election Day being over a week behind us, there are still a dozen House races still undecided, with Republicans needing two more victories to reach the 218 they need for a majority. Of those 12 races, Republicans hold narrow leads in six of them, while Democrats are favored to win the other six. This would give Republicans a razor-thin four-vote majority in the House, a margin that will almost certainly evaporate in an off-year election where the Democratic Party’s base has recently proven to be more reliable voters.
Thune will be tested early by the challenge of securing Senate confirmation for Trump’s Cabinet, several of whom are startling for their inexperience, even unsuitability, for the jobs for which they have been nominated. Thune has pledged to work with Democrats to give them votes on as many of these nominees as possible. If Democrats engage in performative resistance, both Trump and Thune have signaled they are ready to use the constitutionally created recess appointment power to ensure the administration is put in place to implement the will of the people.
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There may come a time when Trump’s agenda gets bogged down in the Senate by Democratic delay and the White House presses the Senate to end the legislative filibuster, but Thune repledged today that he would not make the same mistake Sen. Harry Reid made by further weakening the power of the upper chamber.
Both Thune and Johnson will face significant challenges ahead, but the early results for competent Republican congressional governance are encouraging.