Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the newly appointed Senate majority chief, sought to quell any doubts among the many GOP that he can’t work with President-elect Trump within the hours earlier than his colleagues narrowly voted for him to steer them, insisting there was “no daylight” between him and the president-elect.
Thune’s largest impediment to succeeding Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) as Senate GOP chief had been considerations amongst various Republican senators about whether or not he may work intently with Trump.
Forward of Wednesday’s 29-24 ultimate vote, Thune tried to place these doubts to relaxation by highlighting his function in crafting Trump’s signature tax invoice, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, in 2017, and his efforts to move Trump’s agenda by the Senate as GOP whip in 2019 and 2020.
“Sen. Thune emphasized repeatedly — repeatedly — that he was for President Trump, that he understood that we had won a majority now and had to deliver on it, that there’s no daylight between him and Trump and that he will make the Senate work,” stated Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).
“I hope that’s accurate,” he stated.
The win units up what will likely be a captivating relationship between Trump and Thune.
Solely hours after Thune locked down his votes, he instantly discovered himself in a troublesome spot after Trump nominated conservative Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (I-Hawaii) to function lawyer basic and director of nationwide intelligence, respectively.
The bulletins sparked an instantaneous storm of controversy on Capitol Hill, with some Republican senators expressing shock or outright opposition to the announcement.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, predicted Gaetz may face a troublesome path to affirmation, despite the fact that Senate Republicans will management 52 or 53 seats subsequent yr.
“At the end of the day, Congressman Gaetz, he’ll have a hearing but I’m all about counting votes and I would think that he’s probably got some work cut out for him to get a good strong vote,” he warned.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) bluntly advised reporters that she didn’t view Gaetz as a severe nominee.
“We need to have a serious attorney general,” she stated.
Thune vowed at a press convention earlier within the day that he would push arduous to get Trump’s nominees confirmed rapidly.
“We will do everything we can to process his noms quickly, get them installed in their positions so they can begin implementing his agenda,” he stated.
Thune on Sunday endorsed Trump’s name for the ability to make recess appointments, which might permit him to fill key government and judiciary department positions with out having to steer nominees by the Senate affirmation course of.
Requested Wednesday whether or not he would “move forward” with restoring Trump’s means to make recess appointments, Thune stated, “[what] we’re going to do is make sure that we are processing his nominees in a way that gets them into those positions so they can implement his agenda.”
“How that happens remains to be seen,” he stated.
He made these statements earlier than Trump made his bombshell bulletins about Gaetz and Gabbard.
Gaetz is a controversial choose as a result of he was investigated by the Home Ethics Committee for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.
Gabbard is a polarizing nominee as a result of she expressed skepticism about U.S. authorities claims that Syrian chief Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons towards his personal individuals and as soon as defended Russian President Vladimir Putin’s causes for invading Ukraine.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who has jurisdiction over each nominees as a senior member of the Senate Judiciary and Intelligence committees, appeared dumbfounded by Trump’s decisions to move the Justice Division and a key nationwide safety company.
Cornyn scrunched up his face and turned barely pink when he was requested by reporters about Gaetz heading the Justice Division however managed to keep up message self-discipline.
“We’ll do our job and vet the nominee,” he stated tersely.
He additionally appeared stunned by Trump’s selection of Gabbard to function the nation’s prime intelligence officer.
“Has that happened?” he requested reporters when knowledgeable of the event, elevating his eyebrows.
Trump’s allies within the Senate stated Wednesday they count on Thune to stay to the guarantees he made throughout the Senate GOP management race to stay intently to Trump and perform his political and coverage agenda.
One Republican senator who requested anonymity to debate Thune’s relationship with Trump stated “there’s a fair amount of skepticism” about whether or not the brand new Senate majority chief could be counted on to again the president-elect with out waffling.
“He’s on a relatively short leash,” the lawmaker stated, noting that solely three votes made the distinction within the management race, which Thune received in a 29-24 vote on the second poll.
After the 2020 election, Trump was livid with Thune when he vowed to oppose efforts by Trump-allied senators to dam the certification of Biden electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania.
He blasted Thune as a “RINO” and “Mitch’s boy,” referring to his shut relationship with McConnell.
Trump referred to as for Thune to face a major problem in 2022, however the risk didn’t quantity to a lot, and the South Dakota senator simply received reelection.
Thune made an effort to fix fences with Trump by visiting him at his Mar-a-Lago resort in March.
Nationwide Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who has an excellent relationship with Trump, has acted as a liaison between the 2 males and helped persuade Trump to not intervene within the management race to derail Thune’s probabilities of turning into majority chief, in accordance with a supply conversant in the behind-the-scenes maneuvers.
Trump had predicted to a number of Republican senators in latest days that Thune was more likely to be elected majority chief, and the president-elect reportedly didn’t have an curiosity in getting concerned within the race.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who publicly endorsed Thune early within the management race, stated the brand new Senate GOP majority will “work very closely with the president.”
“President Trump won a resounding election Nov. 5 and the American people want a different direction,” he stated. “The Senate and the House has got to work closely with the president. The American people gave us that mandate.”
He acknowledged “there were some questions about that relationship” between Trump and Thune however argued that the 2 males have made a number of progress resolving their previous variations.
“John Thune has worked really hard at building that relationship,” he stated.
On the identical time, Gaetz must reply powerful questions at his affirmation listening to to get by the Senate.
“There’s a lot of questions that are going to be out there. He’s got to answer those questions,” Mullin stated.
A second Republican who requested anonymity predicted the GOP convention would rally behind Thune, despite the fact that it was nearly evenly divided within the ultimate management vote.
“The conference will move on and John [Thune] will be a good unifier,” the senator stated.
Supply hyperlink
