OAN Staff James Meyers
10:54 AM – Wednesday, November 13, 2024
GOP Senator John Thune of South Dakota has been elected as Senate majority leader, which means he will replace retiring Senator Mitch McConnell, who has held the top Senate GOP position for the last 18 years.
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Thune (R-S.D.), who has served as the Republican whip since 2019, beat out John Cornyn (R-Texas) in a vote of 29-24.
Thune led after the first ballot. He won 25 votes while Cornyn won 15 votes and Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) collected 13 votes.
“I am extremely honored to have earned the support of my colleagues to lead the Senate in the 119th Congress, and I am beyond proud of the work we have done to secure our majority and the White House,” he said in a statement after the vote. “This Republican team is united behind President Trump’s agenda, and our work starts today.”
In January, Thune will be the first non-McConnell GOP Senate majority leader since Bill Frist of Tennessee, who held the role for four years before McConnell took over after the 2006 midterms.
The vote to succeed the 82-year-old was held among all 53 Republican senators and senators-elect.
Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who will be in the minority next year, congratulated Thune on his victory.
“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 on the Senate floor.
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