Republicans begin picking their next leaders in Congress

Republicans have selected their party leaders for the next Congress under President-elect Donald Trump.

Senate Republicans elected South Dakota Sen. John Thune to serve as Senate Majority Leader when the new Congress convenes in January. House Republicans unanimously nominated Speaker Mike Johnson to serve another term in his post. The full House of Representatives votes to elect the speaker on opening day of the new Congress on Jan. 3, 2025.

On the Senate side, Thune will have a 53-47 GOP majority to shepherd Trump's agenda through that chamber.

"This Republican team is united. We are one team, we are excited to reclaim the majority and get to work with our colleagues in the House to enact President Trump's agenda," Thune told reporters after the closed-door election on Wednesday. "We have a mandate from the American people — a mandate not only to clean up the mess left by the Biden-Harris-Schumer agenda, but also to deliver on President Trump's priorities."

Thune, 62, is currently the No. 2 GOP leader. He is generally popular among GOP conference members and was viewed as the front-runner leading up to the election. He replaces current GOP leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has been the top ranking Republican in the Senate since 2007.

Johnson, who won the gavel last fall after Republicans ousted his predecessor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, has faced a tumultuous year. Members of his own conference blocked bills from coming to the floor, and threatened to remove him because he worked with Democrats to pass legislation to avoid government shutdowns — the same reason McCarthy was tossed out.

GOP leadership elections took place as Trump visited Washington for the first time since his election . He spoke with Republicans in Congress and met with President Biden in the Oval Office.

He credited Trump's visit to the conference Wednesday morning with setting "the tone for our day."

"It was a bit of a pep rally," Johnson said. "He gave us a very inspirational message, and he talked about the importance of maintaining unity and standing with this leadership team to go forward."

Changes to House rules

Leaders of each new Congress have the power to adjust some of the operating rules and Republicans are looking to solidify their power with changes to House procedure.

"Now that we have our leadership team in place, it's time to suit up and get to work," said Rep. Tom Emmer, who was reelected by his colleagues as Majority Whip. "With the trifecta in hand, we stand ready and united behind President Trump to deliver on his America first agenda once and for all."

Johnson pointed to discussions between the House Freedom Caucus and the Main Street Caucus to raise the threshold for the motion to vacate - something that has been a thorn in Johnson's side along with his predecessor's - as an example of that unity.

Rep. Dusty Johnson, who chairs the Main Street Caucus, said he negotiated with the head of the Freedom Caucus to increase the number of members needed to oust a speaker to nine, as opposed to one.

"Because of this agreement, we are in a better position to move forward the Republican agenda," he said.

The Senate agenda

Confirming Trump's Cabinet nominees will be the first order of business in January for the Senate. Thune did not rule out the possibility of allowing full congressional recesses so that Trump could temporarily appoint nominees without the need for Senate confirmation, however he said he expects Democrats will work with Republicans to ensure Cabinet nominees are approved through the regular process.

"The Senate has an advise and consent role in the Constitution so we will do everything we can to process his [nominees] quickly and get them installed in their positions so they can begin to implement his agenda," Thune said.

"We expect a level of cooperation from the Democrats to work with us to get these folks installed," he said. "Obviously, we're going to explore all options to make sure they get through and they approved quickly."

Thune went on to say the Senate will continue to maintain the legislative filibuster and the Senate will continue to be a body where the minority party has a voice in the process.

"We will do the job the founders intended us to do in the United States Senate and the American people intend us to do," he said. "And that, right now, after this mandate election coming out of the American people is to work with this president on an agenda that unwinds a lot of the damage of the Biden, Harris, Schumer agenda."

Thune, who serves on the Senate Finance committee, has signaled that renewing Trump's tax cuts that were enacted in 2017 are the top legislative priority. Congressional Republicans are planning to use a process known as budget reconciliation to approve a package that could renew those tax breaks that are expiring at the end of 2025 and further lower corporate tax rates. Top leaders are also planning to move energy and immigration bills.

Trump's influence

While Trump did not have a vote in the Senate election, he loomed large over the contest. Several of his allies weighed in to back Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who was otherwise seen as a less-serious candidate for the job.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, and Tucker Carlson, former Fox News anchor, endorsed Scott, and launched a public campaign to urge Republican senators to back him. Some Trump allies also questioned whether Thune's past public criticism of the former president following Jan. 6, 2021, could be an impediment.

But the closed-door, secret-ballot contest revealed that Thune's longtime relationships with colleagues and experience were the critical factor in elevating him.

The South Dakota Republican was elected to the House in 1996 and served three terms. After falling short in his first Senate bid in 2002 he ran again in 2004 and ousted then Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, the first time a top party leader was defeated in more than 50 years. Thune has held other posts in Senate GOP leadership since 2009 and chaired the Senate Commerce committee, a panel with a wide reaching portfolio including transportation, telecommunications, science and consumer protection issues.

McConnell announced in February he was stepping down from his leadership post, marking the end of his run as the longest serving GOP leader.

Democrats congratulate Thune

Thune has a genial relationship with members across the aisle, even as they've differed on policy.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, the current Senate Majority Leader congratulated Thune during his opening remarks on the Senate floor and appealed to the very unlikely hope that Republicans would work across the aisle despite having control of the House, the Senate and the White House.

"I look forward to working with him. We've done many bipartisan things here in the Senate together and I hope that continues," Schumer said. "I strongly believe that bipartisanship is the best and often the only way to get things done in the Senate."

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee offered praise for Thune "He's going to have a role as a partisan leader but I think he's a very decent guy and I'm looking forward to working with him."

A House in limbo

Johnson will need a majority of all House members in January. Democrats are all expected to back Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., which means Johnson can only afford a few defections, depending on the final number of House Republicans.

Late Wednesday night, the GOP secured majority control of the chamber, but results in a number of California and Arizona races are still not in. Based on the outstanding contests, it looks likely that the GOP leaders will only have a three- or four-seat majority. With Trump already picking three current House GOP lawmakers to serve in his administration — Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York and Mike Waltz and Matt Gaetz of Florida — leaders are facing vacancies when they depart Capitol Hill and trigger special elections. All represent solidly red districts.