Senate Republicans vote to keep John Thune as leader after steep election losses

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans reelected South Dakota Sen. John Thune arsenic their person Tuesday aft a tense time of backstage discussions astir steep losses successful the midterm elections that outgo them their majority.

Thune was ever expected to prevail, arsenic helium is fashionable with his GOP colleagues and was moving unopposed successful the secret-ballot election. But Senate Republicans vented their frustrations successful 3 abstracted meetings Tuesday aft an predetermination wipeout that outgo them astatine slightest 7 Senate seats.

Some Republicans had tried to hold the enactment decision, but the league voted 31-15 to proceed. Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson led the effort to postpone and walked retired erstwhile it failed. The closed-door meetings were held successful the tiny Old Senate Chamber with fewer aides successful attendance.

As the league debated earlier successful the day, West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice said “we privation to beryllium thoughtful and bash the close thing.”

He said determination was a “legitimate statement that, bully gracious, if we mislaid arsenic severely arsenic we lost, wherefore would we proceed connected with the aforesaid leadership?”

At the aforesaid time, the existent GOP enactment “didn’t origin this occupation to happen,” Justice said. “They bash a bully job.”

Republicans' angst and indecision travel arsenic frustrated Republicans are conscionable opening to reckon with what the predetermination results mean for their aboriginal — and for their narration with President Donald Trump, arsenic voters resoundingly rejected their 2 years of single-party regularisation successful Congress and the White House. Two further Senate races stay uncalled successful Alaska and Mississippi that could further deplete their numbers.

“I conscionable deliberation that we’ve got a batch of things that we’ve got to deliberation through, and I deliberation that to conscionable unreserved into this and conscionable ratify each of the aforesaid leadership, what connection does that send?” Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley told reporters aft the archetypal meeting.

“If you don’t deliberation aft losing 7 Senate seats minimum that we request to alteration course, I don’t cognize what satellite you’re on,” said Hawley, who voted to hold the elections. He said helium wasn't alert of anyone other moving for leader, but “maybe determination would be” if they waited.

Others said Thune wasn't the problem. “I don't deliberation it was the responsibility of our leadership, rather frankly," said West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who was reelected to her enactment presumption arsenic GOP argumentation chair.

Thune, who replaced Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky arsenic person successful aboriginal 2025, said earlier the gathering that they would person a “very fulsome, robust speech astir wherever we spell from present and past we’ll spot what the statement of the league is.”

No alternate to Thune emerged

Hawley said the treatment was a “frank” and “honest” unfastened microphone gathering and immoderate senators discussed their ain races this twelvemonth — immoderate who won, and immoderate who lost.

Republicans successful the gathering were besides pushing Thune to enactment successful league astir the timepiece successful the coming weeks to propulsion done warfare spending and different enactment priorities earlier they suffer powerfulness successful January.

“We request a program to get the Republican docket done,” said Florida Sen. Rick Scott.

Before the meeting, Johnson, the Wisconsin senator, had circulated a missive asking for the delay. He said the league needs to bash immoderate “real soul-searching” but besides conceded that determination was nary 1 other connected the ballot.

“That's portion of our problem, who would privation the job?” helium said, turning to a newsman and joking, “Do you privation it?”

Oklahoma Sen. Jim Lankford said that determination was “widespread support” among Republican senators for Thune, who has made it a constituent to perceive retired antithetic viewpoints earlier helium makes large decisions and has maintained adjacent relationships with the fertile and record — a antithetic attack from his predecessor, McConnell.

Lankford said helium supported having the elections connected Tuesday due to the fact that galore of the caller GOP senators were already successful municipality for freshman orientation.

“It’s a beauteous analyzable relation to beryllium capable to manage,” Lankford said of Thune's enactment post. “No 1 wants that job.”

Walking into the meeting, South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds said astir senators were acceptable to determination forward. It is clip to person “leadership successful place,” helium said.

Thune has navigated Trump successful his archetypal 2 years arsenic leader

Thune has spent overmuch of the past 2 years navigating Trump, who has often been astatine likelihood with the Senate.

While backing Trump connected astir policies, Thune has refused to alteration Senate rules and scrap the filibuster to walk voting authorities that would necessitate impervious of citizenship for each voters — a presumption that frustrated Trump and enraged immoderate successful the president's governmental base.

Still, Trump hosted Thune and his household astatine the White House successful October. He said Monday that the GOP person is “a precise good man.” The predetermination is “up to the Senate,” Trump said.

The soul-searching comes arsenic lawmakers are trying to wrapper up the year’s enactment — backing the authorities and seeing if determination are immoderate issues wherever they tin enactment together, including an vigor permitting measure that moved guardant connected a bipartisan ballot Monday evening.

Thune has emphasized his collaborative attack to his colleagues and pointed retired what they did get done successful the past twelvemonth — including Trump's sweeping taxation and spending cuts authorities and an effort astatine reining successful the chaotic yearly spending process.

In a Senate level code Monday, his archetypal extended remarks since the election, Thune said the midterm predetermination was a “tough night” and previewed his transportation to his colleagues who whitethorn beryllium looking for answers connected however they volition navigate the minority.

Republicans volition beryllium consenting to enactment with Democrats, Thune said, but “the American radical are not looking for socialist authorities and leftist fantasies.”

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Associated Press newsman Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.