Republican South Dakota Sen. John Thune was elected Senate Majority Leader on Wednesday. While he appears to have agreed to work with President-elect Donald Trump to confirm his political and judicial nominations and further his agenda, the story is far from over.
The reality is that inside the Republican Party, there is a war brewing, which seems odd given that Americans overwhelmingly voted in support of Trump’s vision for governing the nation. This dynamic played out in the Senate Majority Leader race. Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott seemed to be the favorite among Trump world, while the establishment wanted either Thune or Texas Sen. John Cornyn. However, none of the three reflect the broader dominant views of the voters who elected Trump.
Cornyn would have been McConnell 2.0. He is an institutionalist at his core. He perpetuated racial tensions during the height of the George Floyd era, was vocally anti-Trump and his voting record reflects his seemingly strong disdain for everyday Americans. He promised to help further Trump’s agenda but immediately returned to his obstinate ways once he lost the Senate Majority Leader race. Texans are fed up with Cornyn’s leadership, so much so that they have promised to primary “McCornyn” in 2026 with names like Republican Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller at the top of the list to replace him.
Thune is also an anti-Trump institutionalist. In an interview with CNBC, he encouraged Trump to stay out of the Senate Majority Leader race. If Cornyn is McConnell 2.0, Thune is McConnell-lite. He’s quick to jump on corporate media’s narratives and capitulate on issues that divide our nation, like race, Jan. 6 and illegal immigration. He is the perfect example of a squishy D.C. Republican who runs to networks like CNN to show he’s one of the “good ones.” It seems obvious that he doesn’t understand the voters or their approval of Trump.
As Florida governor, Scott stripped Floridians of their Second Amendment rights and supported amnesty for illegal immigrants. While he has changed his tune on these issues over the last four years, making him closer to the leader Trump would need in the Senate, his record isn’t perfect. Still, out of the three options, it seems that he would have gotten the closest to delivering the will of the people.
Scott lost in the first round with the least votes among the three hopefuls, and Cornyn lost in the second vote, leaving Thune as the last man standing. Thune has promised to promote Trump’s agenda, but let’s not kid ourselves. The establishment wing of the Republican Party won a major battle electing Thune. Still, the war is not lost. (ROOKE: Trump Is Already Having Major Impact On Issue Voters Elected Him To Fix)
The establishment D.C. types generally dictated Trump’s first term in office. They knew his lack of knowledge of the power he could wield as president gave them an avenue to thwart his agenda. But now he doesn’t have to fight against an institutionalist, like Mike Pence, and the rest of the Republican Party because his new Vice President, J.D. Vance, is willing to march in lockstep with his vision. Vance understands his role is to deliver on the Trump agenda, which at its core is a voter mandate to fix our broken country.
As a team, they have a monopoly on the power given to them by the voters and the U.S. Constitution. It’s been decades since a president has strongly asserted his power, and the incoming Trump team seems to have the backbone and fortitude to combat obstinate elected officials who still believe the old ways of running the country are best. What we are seeing is the last attempt of a dying regime to hold on to power and relevance in the wake of the 2024 election results.
Trump’s ability to combat their desires to subvert the voter mandate handed down in November will directly affect Americans. This is a war the establishment cannot be allowed to win.
