Unlock the free White House Watch newsletter
Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
South Dakota Senator John Thune has been selected as the next Republican leader in the Senate during Donald Trump’s second term, setting him up as a potential check on the incoming president’s agenda and powers.
The Republican majority’s decision to back Thune on Wednesday was a rebuke to Trump allies, including billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk and former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, who have all called for Florida senator Rick Scott to get it. top job.
But Trump – who previously called Thune “weak and ineffective” and “Rino”, or “Republican in name only” – did not make an endorsement in the leadership race.
Thune’s election as Republican leader in the upper house of Congress comes as Trump returns to Washington following his victory over Kamala Harris last week.
US President Joe Biden invited Trump to meet at the White House, where the two leaders promised an orderly transfer of power ahead of the January handover.
“Congratulations,” Biden told Trump as they sat near a fireplace in the Oval Office. “I look forward to a smooth transition.”
Trump replied: “It’s going to be fine and I’m very grateful, Joe.”
Biden and Trump have been bitter political rivals for years. Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 election, and they faced each other this year before Biden withdrew as the Democratic nominee in July to make way for Harris. While the president has called Trump a threat to US democracy in the past, Trump has accused Biden of being the worst president in US history.
“Politics is hard and in many cases it’s not a good world, but it’s a good world right now,” Trump said.
The two men and their chief of staff met for about two hours in the Oval Office, where the president-elect asked detailed questions, according to the White House.
“This is an important meeting,” said Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “They discussed important national security and domestic policy issues facing our country and the world.”
“There was a wonderful back and forth” and Trump was “beautiful”, he added.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said that during the meeting, Biden “reinforced his view that the United States’ continued engagement with Ukraine is in our national security interest”.
Thune’s victory in the Senate leadership race makes him a critical figure – and a potential obstacle – for Trump as president-elect to pursue his agenda, including the extension of the 2017 tax cuts, and to secure the confirmation of his nominee for the top. projects and cabinet posts.
Trump has made several nominations, including Fox News host and US military veteran Pete Hegseth, as secretary of defense, who could face opposition in the Senate.
The nominations of controversial Florida congressman Matt Gaetz for attorney general and former Democratic representative Tulsi Gabbard for intelligence chief will also be scrutinized in the Senate.
Thune defeated Texas senator John Cornyn in the second round of voting on Thursday to secure the backing of a majority of his colleagues, after Scott had been eliminated in the first round.
“This team of Republicans is united on President Trump’s agenda, and our work begins today,” Thune said.
Starting in January, Republicans will hold both chambers of Congress after US TV networks on Wednesday showed the party surpassed the 218 seats needed to control the House. The margin, however, remains uncertain, with some seats yet to be called. Republicans also gained four Senate seats in last week’s election, taking control of the Senate from Democrats.
Trump on Wednesday spoke to House Republicans on Capitol Hill and gave his endorsement to Speaker Mike Johnson.
Thune, 63, is the senior US senator from South Dakota and is second in line for Senate leadership behind Mitch McConnell starting in 2019.
Thune seems more of a Republican, compared to Cornyn or Scott. He did not support Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, although earlier this year Thune met the former president at a resort in Florida.
Trump sought to flex his political muscle by insisting over the weekend that Republican leaders in the Senate must allow him to make recess appointments to his cabinet, bypassing the formal Senate confirmation process.
Thune responded in a statement that lawmakers “must act quickly and decisively so that the president’s cabinet and other nominations can be made quickly”, adding: “All options are on the table for that to happen, including the appointment of a break.”
