Republican members of the Senate chose John Thune (R-S.D.) to be the next Senate Majority Leader, a position that comes as the Republican Party won control of the Senate in the 2024 election.
What Happened: Thune, who has been a member of the Senate since 2005, won a secret vote among Republican senators, beating out John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.).
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who served as the Senate minority leader, is stepping down from party leadership after several years. McConnell had a tense relationship with Donald Trump, who will become the next president of the United States and return to the White House in January 2025.
Scott, a Trump ally, was backed by members of the Senate who have clashed with McConnell. Thune quickly became a favorite among the members of the Senate who wanted to see McConnell's style followed, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Scott, who was also backed by Trump ally Elon Musk, lost in the first round of voting, with Thune and Cornyn moving onto the final round.
"I am extremely honored to have earned the support of my colleagues to lead the Senate in the 119th Congress," Thune shared in a post on X.
Thune said he's proud of the Republican Party winning majority control and the presidency.
"This Republican team is united behind President Trump's agenda, and our work starts today."
As the Senate majority leader, Thune will work with the party and members of the Senate to pass tax cuts, approve Trump-nominated judges and members of his cabinet and work on government spending.
The Republican Party will take over control of the Senate with a 53-47 majority on Jan. 3 when the new terms for elected officials begin.
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Working With Trump: As the Senate majority leader, Thune will work closely with the Republican Party and President-elect Trump.
While Trump didn't weigh in on the leadership race for the Senate, he said he wanted whoever won the vote to allow recess appointments, giving the new president the ability to elect some official and judges without Senate approval. Scott agreed to the demands, while Thune did not publicly support the measure.
With Thune announced as the new Senate majority leader, past tension between Trump and the new leader have emerged.
"Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately," Thune tweeted ahead of the 2016 election.
Thune voted to certify the 2020 presidential election results, despite objections from Trump.
"RINO John Thune, ‘Mitch's boy', should just let it play out. South Dakota doesn't like weakness. He will be primaried in 2022, political career over!!!" Trump tweeted about Thune in December 2020.
With Trump and Thune now set to work side by side, the question will be if they can move past their sometimes tense relationship.
SPY Price Action: The SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY, which tracks the S&P 500 Index, fell from an intraday high of $599.23 after the Senate news was announced.
The ETF is up 0.3% Wednesday to $598.42 versus a 52-week trading range of $446.09 to $600.16. SPY shares are up 26.6% year-to-date in 2024. Stock indexes have traded higher since the 2024 election. With the Republicans controlling the Senate and presidency, investors anticipate many of Trump's policies and focal points of his next presidency moving through Congress.
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