By S.A. McCarthy
The Washington Stand
Republican candidates rode President-elect Donald Trump’s coattails to a decisive victory in last week’s election and are now preparing to elect a new majority leader in the reclaimed U.S. Senate. Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas), John Thune (R-S.D.), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) are currently running for the position, but some commentators and critics are warning that only Scott would deliver on Trump’s promise to “make America great again.”
So far, six Republican senators have publicly endorsed Scott for majority leader: Bill Hagerty (Tenn.), Ron Johnson (Wis.), Mike Lee (Utah), Rand Paul (Ky.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), and Tommy Tuberville (Ala.). According to a whip’s headcount reportedly leaked by Republican staffers, Scott is also supported by Roger Marshall (Kans.), Eric Schmitt (Mo.), incoming Bernie Moreno (Ohio), Scott himself, and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, who will serve as the president of the Senate. The leaked whip’s count shows Thune leading the race with 24 votes, trailed by Cornyn with 18.
Tech billionaire and Trump confidante Elon Musk also publicly endorsed Scott and polled X (formerly Twitter) users on which of the three candidates they would like to see as majority leader. Of the over one million X users who responded, over 65% chose Scott. Second place (at 22%) went to “other.” Lee also polled X users and found that 90% of the 316,000 respondents chose Scott over either Thune or Cornyn.
Trump ally Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. also threw his weight behind Scott, saying that without the Florida senator at the helm, “the entire Trump reform agenda [is] wobbly.” Trump’s own son, Donald, Jr., has also come out in support of Scott.
“Here’s what I bring to the table: I clearly believe in the Trump agenda,” Scott said in an interview with Fox News. “I’m representing Trump’s agenda and what my colleagues want,” he added. Scott has pledged to halt “trillion-dollar omnibus bills,” enforce term limits for the majority leader, enable a “fair and robust amendment process,” and work quickly to confirm Trump’s executive appointments, including recess appointments, which neither Thune nor Cornyn has committed to.
Without openly endorsing a leader, Trump weighed in on the leadership race, saying, “Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner.” He continued, “Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again. We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY!” The president-elect also called on sitting Republican leadership not to confirm any of incumbent President Joe Biden’s judicial nominations. He warned that “the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.”
FRC Action’s scorecard reports that Scott, Thune, and Cornyn all voted with the conservative position 95% of the time in the 118th session of Congress.
According to Punchbowl News, GOP senators are being bombarded with phone calls and emails from constituents, demanding that they back Scott for the leadership role. An anonymous Republican senator told the outlet that influencers and voters are “trying to bully us.” However, reporter and social media personality Benny Johnson reported that senators are responding to the public backlash and switching their votes to Scott.
Originally published at The Washington Stand!
