Written by David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New U.S. Senate Republican leader John Thune will face the test of his career when Donald Trump returns to power next month as he aims to shepherd the new president's priorities through Congress while protecting his chamber's power over Cabinet selection and spending.
The 63-year-old South Dakotan, a 20-year Senate veteran, is known as an approachable negotiator skilled at finding common ground between opposing factions. He will take over as majority leader on January 3, when his party's new 53-47 majority is sworn in.
Thune will have to maintain a positive relationship with Trump, who was at times irritable and unpredictable, who once sought to oust him and who has shown little interest in the Senate's role as a check on executive power.
He will be tasked with overseeing the confirmation of a series of norm-breaking Cabinet nominees; Implement Trump's agenda of tax cuts, border security, and energy deregulation, and avoid a possible US default on its $36 trillion debt sometime next year.
“He enters the position of majority leader during one of the most contentious and important years the Senate has seen in a generation,” said Brian Riedel, a former Senate aide who is now a senior fellow at the right-leaning Manhattan Institute. “It will truly be a trial by fire.”
Thune's first test will be overseeing the confirmation hearings of Trump's controversial Cabinet picks, including Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense, Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Kash Patel as Director of the FBI.
Members of Thon's conference expressed quiet concern about the four, whose resumes differ from those of previous candidates for powerful offices. Since one of Trump's picks, former Congressman Matt Gaetz, withdrew from running for attorney general, Trump's allies have increased pressure on Senate Republicans to side with his other nominees.
Thune for weeks avoided weighing in on the nominees' qualifications, simply saying that each nominee would have to answer questions at a public hearing and then face a confirmation vote in the Senate. Some Trump supporters say this position is not firm enough for their tastes.
“The Senate Majority Leader’s job is to ensure that qualified Cabinet nominees from his president’s party get confirmed,” said Mike Davis, a former Republican Senate aide and founder and president of the Article III Project.
Davis said his Trump-allied advocacy group has already directed tens of thousands of people to call, email, and “ignite” undecided Senate Republicans on social media.
“If these qualified candidates fail, then John Thune fails,” Davis said.
Thune struck a note of respect for Trump's nominees in an interview with Fox News last week, saying, “I give broad latitude and broad respect to the president when he makes these choices. We have work to do, advise and consent, and we will do it.” And making sure there is a fair process.”
Thune has survived a pressure campaign by members of Trump's “Make America Great Again” movement, who wanted Sen. Rick Scott to be the chamber's leader instead.
This victory came in a secret ballot held behind closed doors, but the Cabinet vote will be held publicly in the Senate chamber.
“Institutional at heart”
Thune, whose current six-year term runs until 2028, has strong support in South Dakota, insulating him from Trump's hopes of fielding a primary challenger against him in 2022 after he criticized Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
He said he plans to protect the Senate's power and traditions, which include the power to confirm or reject the president's cabinet picks and the “filibuster” rule, which requires 60 out of 100 senators to approve most legislation — meaning it may sometimes need Democratic support.
“The Senate is here to be a place where things slow down, are more deliberative and give a voice to the minority,” Thune told reporters this month. “Obviously, as we've said before, the filibuster is non-negotiable.”
In an interview with Time magazine published Thursday, Trump said he had “respect” for the filibuster and a “very good relationship” with Thune.
Thune entered the Senate in 2005 with a reputation as a giant-killer, having ousted then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who had led Democrats in the chamber for the previous decade.
Daschle expressed his respect for Thune in an interview.
“I have confidence in John Thune,” Daschle said. “It's institutional at heart.”
Thune's allies say the former high school basketball star has the acumen to take on lawmakers unwilling to toe the party line on critical votes. It's a skill that Thune and his House counterpart, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who will start the year with a narrow 217-215 majority, will need next year.
“What you see in him sometimes is the competitive athlete. It's the same spirit,” Republican Senator Kevin Cramer told reporters. “I think his elbows are pretty sharp on the basketball court.”
Trump and his supporters might expect nothing less, and appear prepared to fight back if some Senate Republicans try to change his priorities. Trump has already suggested he will resort to recess appointments to confirm nominees if the Senate does not support his picks.
“They are all highly qualified men and women with the talent, experience and skills needed to make America great again, and we expect our senators to recognize that during their confirmation process,” Colton Snedecor, spokesman for the Trump-Vance transition, said in a statement. statement.
Philip Wallach, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said Thune could face pressure from hardline conservatives who don't care about Senate traditions. “Ass.”
