On Wednesday, Senate Republicans elected Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) as their new majority leader, succeeding Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has led the party in the Senate since 2007.
“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," Thune said in a statement following his election. "This Republican team is united behind President Trump's agenda, and our work starts today."
A lot of people get worked up over leadership elections, and many Trump supporters were hoping for Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to be the new Republican leader in the Senate. Others didn’t like any of the options.
I’ve been one to care too much about these elections; no one is ever completely happy about the outcome, and some people get outright furious for no legitimate reason. We’ve won a historic election, and now is not the time to get worked up over a leadership position that is likely not going to make a huge difference in how Trump’s agenda is implemented.
I don’t care about “establishment” this or “former Trump hater” that, or the obligatory accusations of being a RINO. None of this helps. Get over it. Move on.
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I know I’ll get flak for saying this, but really, it’s the truth. Everyone is glad McConnell retired from the leadership, and that’s fine and good. He was too old, and he should retire from the Senate, to be honest. As much as he was another “establishment Republican” and yada, yada, yada, you know what? When Trump was in office before, they worked well together.
It’s true, and it’s stupid to pretend otherwise. When Trump was in office, he and McConnell joined forces to confirm a record number of conservative judges, leaving a lasting impact on the judiciary.
Blocking Garland wasn’t McConnell’s only bold move. When Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away in 2020, he faced immense pressure to delay filling the vacancy until after the next inauguration. Yet he stood firm, ensuring Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s swift confirmation.
Think about it: without McConnell’s decisive actions, the Supreme Court’s makeup today would be dramatically different. Rather than a solid 6-3 conservative majority, we’d be looking at a narrow 5-4 liberal majority. Whatever McConnell’s other shortcomings may be, his role in shaping the Court deserves real credit.
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Conservatives have an annoying tendency to overthink and overanalyze these situations, desperately trying to find something to complain about. If Scott had been elected, there'd be some pointing to his past criticisms of Trump as proof he's anti-MAGA, RINO, and blah, blah, blah.
We'll never fix the problems of this country fighting among ourselves. Thune has already promised that the GOP majority will do "everything we can to process his [nominations] quickly and get them installed in their positions so they can begin to implement his agenda."
BREAKING: Majority Leader John Thune was asked if he has any doubts on Trump's nominees - has just vowed to ram through his appointments "quickly" pic.twitter.com/uN5yrW1waU
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 13, 2024
So please relax. I suspect Trump and Thune will have as productive of a relationship working together as Trump did with McConnell.
And you'll be happy about it.
