WASHINGTON – The battle among Senate Republicans over who will be the next majority leader is becoming an early test of how much power President-elect Donald Trump’s “MAGA” movement will wield in his second term.
A three-way battle to replace outgoing Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pits Senate Minority Whip John Thune, RS.D., former McConnell deputy Sen. John Cornyn and underdog candidate Sen. Rick Scott. R-Fla.
The battle will measure the staying power of long-serving senior Senate Republicans like Thune and Cornyn, who lean on the Senate’s institutionalist outlook, against a emboldened pro-Trump wing that wants to erase any vestiges of the old GOP once they return to power.
Scott is vying for the latter mantle, saying in an interview with NBC News on Monday that he would advance the “Trump agenda” if elected.
“I talk to all my colleagues and they make it clear what they want and they know we have to change. They want to be treated as equals, they want to be part of a team. They know that I have a great relationship with Trump and the Speaker of the House and that I am a businessman. I will also carry out Trump’s agenda,” Scott said.
Ahead of Tuesday’s candidate forum and Wednesday’s expected closed election, MAGA influencers launched an online pressure campaign to sink current and former McConnell lawmakers and boost Scott.
Right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson he said Scott is “the only candidate who agrees with Donald Trump” and claimed that the other two candidates “hate Trump and what he’s working on.” (Thune and Cornyn have criticized Trump in the past, but both endorsed Trump this year.)
Billionaire Trump benefactor Elon Musk too confirmed Scott said Monday: “The new Senate Majority Leader must respond to the will of the people.”
One of Trump’s best allies on the Hill, R-Ga. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene encouraged senators to elect Scott to the position. “The Republican Conference needs to elect a leader who represents the People, not the way it has been for decades,” Greene told NBC News.
However, it is not clear whether the campaign will succeed. The Senate is a notoriously isolated body, relatively detached from populist fervor, giving members six-year terms and usually serving by seniority. It would be unusual for Scott to leapfrog two colleagues who have served longer, built deeper relationships and paid their dues in pursuit of the job.
Most importantly, the election will be held by secret ballot. Unlike votes on legislation and nominations, as well as votes for speaker of the House of Representatives, votes for Senate leadership are anonymous. This means that relationships will take precedence and the online pro-Trump army will not know how members voted.
“It’s a loud online presence that ultimately doesn’t drive votes in the Senate,” said one Senate Republican aide, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the dynamics of the race. “And senators are reacting negatively to that.”
The most remarkable thing is that as all three candidates tried to demonstrate their closeness to Trump, Trump himself did not mind.
Scott said he would appreciate calling Trump in May to ask for his support in the leadership race, and two people familiar with his thinking say his goal is to pressure Trump to announce his support ahead of Wednesday’s election.
In interviews since Election Day, Scott has said he communicated with Trump by text.
But Scott was coy when asked by NBC News on Monday if he had Trump’s support.
“I welcome everyone’s support. He supported me in my run against Mitch McConnell in 2022,” Scott said.
Asked if he wanted the president-elect’s endorsement, the senator said, “I’m not going to talk about private conversations.”
“Thune is in the race to lose”
Scott is less popular among his colleagues than Thune and Cornyn; In 2022, he received just 10 votes when he unsuccessfully challenged McConnell for the top job.
Thune and Cornyn have well-established relationships as leaders at the conference, and both have donated time and money to help elect a new Republican majority this year.
“This is Thune’s race to lose,” said Mike Davis, a fierce Trump ally who previously served as a top aide to Senate Republicans.
But Davis said the price of that hiring will be advancing Trump’s agenda.
“Senate Republicans, especially the Senate Republican leadership, need to understand that the American people have returned President Trump to the White House with his ‘America First’ agenda.” Any Republican presidential candidate who disagrees with that should get the hell away,” he said.
Scott, who just won a second six-year term, said in an interview that his victory in Florida did not need to moderate Republican views.
“We never moderated our positions and kept winning,” Scott said in an interview Friday. “If you look at the country now, we are the center of the Republican Party. … The whole country is moving in our direction.”
Before last week’s election, there was Scott searched for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. and to bridge the gap between his Senate GOP conference and push Mitch McConnell out of relevance. Scott, who is on track to hold a narrow majority in the Republican House, sees his ties to Louisiana as an advantage in the leadership race.
Several sitting senators have publicly endorsed him: Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.; Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Rand Paul, R-Ky.; Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.; and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. Some of them, such as Rubio, Hagerty and Tuberville, have been appointed to high positions in the Trump administration.
Of the three senators vying to succeed McConnell, Scott was the only one to be interviewed on Sunday shows this weekend, where he emphasized his “close relationship” with the speaker during an interview with Fox News on Sunday.
The interview and the MAGA online campaign were deliberate moves to predict an outpouring of support for the newly elected Floridian and put pressure on Thune, considered the front-runner.
Trump did a public demand: the next GOP leader should support the ability to make “recess appointments” to temporarily deploy staff without Senate approval.
“I have listened carefully to my colleagues for eight months about their vision for the next chapter of the Senate Republican Conference, especially as we deal with President Trump,” Thune told NBC News. “One thing is clear: We must move quickly and decisively to get the president’s cabinet and other nominees as quickly as possible to begin fulfilling the mandate we were sent to execute, and all options to do so are on the table. This is happening, including recess meetings. We are Chuck Schumer and We cannot allow Senate Democrats to block the will of the American people.”
Cornyn he swore If Democrats block Trump’s nominees, “we’ll stay in session until they calm down, including on weekends. “In addition, the Constitution clearly gives the president the power to make recess appointments.”
Scott, meanwhile, he answered On X to Trump: “I agree 100%.”