The Messy Fight for Senate Majority Leader – Who Will Trump Endorse?

There’s a battle brewing between MAGA and the GOP establishment not even a full week since Donald Trump’s resounding presidential victory.

With Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell announcing he would step down from Senate leadership and allow someone else to take the reigns in 2025, a potentially messy fight is shaping up between a handful of potential replacements.

There are four Republican Senators that have announced an intention to seek the Majority Leader position according to Newsweek:

John Thune – South Dakota’s John Thune, current Senate minority whip, is a potential front-runner for the GOP leadership position. The 63-year-old was first elected to office in 2005, and has defied Trump’s requests on multiple occasions.

John Cornyn – U.S. Senator John Cornyn of Texas is also in the running to replace McConnell. He has served in the Senate since 2002, and was his home state’s attorney general before serving in Congress.

John Barrasso – U.S. Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming won his third term in office on Tuesday. He is the third-ranking Republican in the Senate and has served in Congress since 2007.

Rick Scott – Florida U.S. Senator Rick Scott, a Trump-backed candidate who was elected for a second term this week, threw his name into the hat for the next Senate majority leader on Wednesday, telling Fox News, “I’m going to win.”

As of Thursday, Thune seemed to be the favorite according to reporting from The Hill:

Thune, the Senate GOP whip, has been considered a slight favorite to replace the Kentucky Republican. He is the top vote-counter on the GOP side and has proven an able fundraiser and campaigner.

But few are counting out Cornyn, a former whip and top ally to the outgoing leader who is considered to have strong ties with more conservative segments of the conference.

“It’s Thune’s to lose, but Cornyn’s going to make it close,” one GOP aide familiar with leadership dynamics told The Hill. “It’s going to be bloody and rough, and money is going to matter.”

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is also once again running for the post but is not expected to survive past the first ballot in what will be a secret tally Wednesday. The vote will only include the members who will be in office once the 119th Congress convenes next year.

Out of the four, only Scott seems to have the backing of grassroots MAGA and the rhetoric is already heating up with Trump allies lobbying their boss for the newly re-elected Florida Senator:

🚨 AXIOS: "People very close to Trump have privately signaled their support for [Florida Senator Rick] Scott as leader, which the senator hopes could turn into public backing by Trump."

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 8, 2024

The push for Scott comes amid a recent veiled threat made by Thune urging Donald Trump to stay out of the Senate Majority Leader race:

🚨New: John Thune tells Donald Trump to stay out of the Senate Majority Leader race

Thune said: “I think it's probably in his best interest to stay out of that.”

Thune is currently running for Majority Leader.

What is your response?
pic.twitter.com/hvLpAefJQs

— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) November 7, 2024

It’s Trump’s agenda on the line, not Thune’s. It would be derelict for the President-Elect not to weigh in on the race and push for the Majority Leader most likely to help deliver on Trump’s campaign promises. Furthermore, Thune has his own history of getting soft on Trump and even pushed for him to be replaced by Mike Pence just weeks before Election Day in 2016:

This is the last person we need as senate majority leader. pic.twitter.com/o3n9rSoKxR

— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) November 7, 2024

Trump is known for rewarding loyalty, but he’s also known for burying the hatchet once proper amends are made. It’s possible Trump could offer a quiet endorsement of Scott, but it’s also possible he remains impartial on the matter, not wishing to upset the apple cart.

Voting takes place on Wednesday, November 13, and is typically performed using a secret ballot. The one week sprint to secure votes will only intensify over the weekend leaving little time for maneuvering and making Trump’s potential endorsement all that more important.