Thune usually voted with Trump on most legislation and will be a solid advocate for the president and his policies. Pictured: Senator John Thune. Photo Credit: John Thune/X.
Amidst the sound and fury of President-Elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks, Senate Republicans selected a new leader to replace their outgoing boss Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. The importance of this choice cannot be underestimated. The Senate leader oversees much of the legislative agenda coming from the Executive Branch. When people from the same party lead these branches of government, the opportunity for getting things done increases dramatically. Trump’s electoral success coincides with his party taking control of the Senate and the House. The restored president will seek support and help to get legislation across the finish line and gain approval for his cabinet nominations. Trump chose to stay neutral in the race to replace his nemesis, McConnell. Plenty of recriminations will follow if the new man fails to embrace and empower the president-elect’s agenda including all his nominees.
The contest to succeed McConnell drew three candidates, two of whom have extensive Senate experience. Senator John Cornyn of Texas has held his seat since 2002. Senator Rick Scott, a MAGA favourite, has held his in Florida since 2018 having just won re-election to a second term. The third candidate, Senator John Thune of South Dakota has held his seat since defeating former Senate Leader Tom Daschle in 2004. Many believed Trump favoured Scott, but he received the fewest votes and was eliminated after one ballot. In the final ballot amongst the 53 Republican senators, Thune prevailed over Cornyn 29-24. Many in the MAGA world interpreted this as a surrender to the old GOP and its establishment wing. That overstates the challenge. Thune usually voted with Trump on most legislation and will be a solid advocate for the president and his policies. To explain that further, let me provide three instances of Thune’s commitment to Donald Trump’s success.
Thune wants Trump’s presidency to be successful. He knows that his longevity as Majority Leader depends on Trump overseeing a presidency that boasts a strong economy, maintains domestic tranquillity, and ensures American influence on the world stage. Thune will help Trump get his nominees through as long as they follow the process and go through a hearing. The idea that Trump should be able to make recess appointments, run roughshod over Senators, or expect Thune to surrender his privileges to the Trump White House will meet with stiff opposition from Thune and his colleagues. With 53 Republican senators, Thune will usually be able to get enough to support a Trump initiative if the White House works with him. Circumventing Thune, threatening senators from blue states like Senator Susan Collins of Maine or expecting Thune to exceed senate rules will put the Trump agenda in doubt. Thune will work hard to help Trump get his tax cuts of 2017 installed permanently. He has plenty of respect amongst his colleagues and a Trump show of good faith with the new leader will go a long way in helping the returning president achieve his legislative goals.
The Majority Leader will be key to confirming Trump’s appointments. Without going into unnecessary detail, Trump’s picks are controversial for some. The five most unconventional are Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at Health and Human Services, Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, Pete Hegseth at Defence, and Kirsti Noem at Homeland Security. On Mark Halperin’s 2 WAY podcast, former Trump spokesman, Sean Spicer indicated he thinks all will likely be confirmed. If they are, it will speak to the overwhelming sense of change everyone in Washington is experiencing.
A tempered view of things would suggest a couple of these appointments could go down to defeat. Hegseth has been mischaracterized in the press as a TV host when he holds two bronze stars, graduated from Princeton and Harvard, and has business experience. He also has a very checkered past with women, has stated they should not be in combat positions, and has no governmental experience. Whether he can overcome these shortcomings will depend on Thune rallying senators to his cause. Thune will be more invested if he senses the White House’s respect for his leadership and not the undermining that Trump became famous for in his everlasting conflict with Mitch McConnell.
The last one will be Supreme Court nominations. Ironically, two of the three greatest conservative jurists of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries (Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito) were appointed by the presidents Bush. The other, Antonin Scalia, was a Reagan appointee. For all the hoopla about Trump’s appointments (Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett), while solid, none have reached the gravitas of the Reagan and Bush appointments.
Given their age, Thomas and Alito may leave office in the next year or two, meaning Trump will have two more appointments to the Supreme Court. He will be the first president since Dwight Eisenhower to have appointed a majority of the Court if that were to happen. Thune will be key to getting the president’s nominations in place. Having learned from McConnell he will be well prepared to shepherd these picks into place. No senator knew the rules better than McConnell and no party leader effected better results.
McConnell will be known as the most successful leader in senate history when he retires, and that expertise will rest as residue on Thune. Trump carries a grudge towards McConnell, but the Kentucky senator proved over and over again that he could outmaneuver his opponents, outsmart his detractors, and overdeliver even when his hand was poor. Thune learned at the feet of the master and the GOP’s control of the senate will pay big dividends for Trump if he is smart enough to understand the role of the senate as advising and consenting. The opportunity for legislative success, successful appointments, and a Supreme Court stocked with young conservative judges sits on the doorstep for Trump. Will he be savvy enough to say yes? Stay tuned.
Dave Redekop is a retired elementary resource teacher who worked part-time at the St. Catharines Courthouse as a Registrar until being appointed Executive Director at Redeemer Bible Church in October 2023. He has worked on political campaigns since high school and attended university in South Carolina for five years, earning a Master’s in American History with a specialization in Civil Rights. Dave loves reading biographies.
