Thune urges Trump to stay out of race to replace McConnell

Source: The Hill

11/08/24 6:00 AM ET


Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) is urging President-elect Trump not to put his thumb on the scale in the race to elect a successor to outgoing Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), putting a new wrinkle in the high-stakes contest.

Thune in recent days has declared his preference that Trump give Republican senators space to make their own decision about who should lead the new Senate GOP majority, arguing it would be in Trump’s “best interests” to stay neutral. That argument has been echoed by Thune’s allies, such as Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who told CNN earlier this week that Trump should “stay out of the race.”

Thune’s comments are creating a stir among Senate insiders two days after Trump won a resounding victory over Vice President Harris and helped Republicans regain the Senate majority. Allies of Thune’s two rivals in the leadership race, Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), say that calls for Trump to stay out of the leadership race indicate that Thune is nervous that the president-elect would endorse either Cornyn or Scott — which would be a serious setback.

“He’s terrified. He knows that Trump won’t endorse him. If he knows that, then Trump getting involved hurts him,” a Senate Republican aide said. Thune’s rivals have a better relationship with Trump, especially Scott, who’s the closest to the president-elect of the three.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4979745-john-thune-donald-trump-senate-gop-leadership/